Average Score The Average Score is the average of all Overall Scores from colleges in a state that were included in the College Free Speech Rankings.
60.0 Treanding Down
/ 100
Average Rank The Average Rank is the average of all Overall Ranks from colleges in a state that were included in the College Free Speech Rankings.
97 Treanding Down
/ 257
Average Grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D-
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
5
Comfort Expressing Ideas Comfort Expressing Ideas measures how comfortable students feel sharing their views on controversial topics in different campus settings. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D-
Disruptive Conduct Disruptive Conduct measures how acceptable students think it is to disrupt a campus speaker. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C
Openness Openness measures how many controversial topics students feel they can openly discuss on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C
Self-Censorship Self-Censorship measures how often students hold back their views on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93–100) to F (below 60).
D-
Administrative Support Administrative Support measures how clearly students think their school supports free speech and how likely the administration is to defend a speaker's rights during a controversy. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Political Tolerance Political Tolerance measures how willing students are to allow controversial speakers — on both the left and right — to speak on campus, even if they disagree with their views. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Overview
Three Maryland schools are ranked in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings. The state’s average speech-climate grade is D–, compared to a national average of F.The University of Maryland–College Park ranks 44 overall and is the top-ranked school in the state. UMD holds a “green light” rating in FIRE’s Spotlight database, meaning its written policies do not seriously threaten student expression. The University System of Maryland Board of Regents has adopted the pro-free speech Chicago Statement, applying to both UMD and Towson University.
Towson ranks 104 and holds a “yellow light” rating. Johns Hopkins University follows at 144 and has independently adopted both the Chicago Statement and a statement on institutional neutrality. It also holds a “yellow light” rating.
Maryland has made policy progress at both the system and campus levels. Ensuring that reforms are reflected in written policies — and adopted more broadly — would help improve the state’s overall climate for speech.
Highlights
44% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
77% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
37% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
2.36:1
Across Maryland, there are roughly 2.36 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Average score over time
Speech Controversies
Speech Controversies: When Free Expression Is Challenged
Explore notable incidents where free speech was tested on campuses across Maryland. From speaker deplatformings to administrative actions, these events highlight the challenges — and consequences — of restricting expression.
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
5
Scholars Under Fire Scholar Controversies are campus incidents where a professor or academic staff member faces backlash or punishment for speech protected by academic freedom or the First Amendment.
1
Students Under Fire Student Controversies are campus incidents where a student or student group faces punishment or pressure from the school for speech that's protected by the First Amendment.
1
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
3
Honor Roll Statements Honor Roll Statements are the number of public messages from a college or university defending free speech during a campus controversy. Schools that make these statements can earn bonus points on their Overall Score for standing up for free expression when it counts.
0
Attempted Disruptions Attempted Disruptions are the number of incidents where people on campus try to stop a scheduled event or speaker.
0
New in 2025 The number of controversies that have occurred since the previous launch of the College Free Speech Rankings.
2
Scholars Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Johns Hopkins University | Tavish Forsyth | Forsyth, a queer artist and educator who served as a faculty member at the university’s Center for Leadership Education where they taught communication skills, public speaking, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and also held the position of associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, a program under the Kennedy Center, posted a 35-minute video on YouTube titled “Trump Declares War on Artists | Do I Quit the Kennedy Center?” In this video, they appeared nude (with a digitally superimposed rainbow heart over their groin) and delivered a spoken-word poem protesting President Donald Trump’s recent appointment as chairman of the Kennedy Center’s board and his administration’s policies, including the banning of drag performances and the removal of DEI initiatives. Forsyth questioned whether remaining at the Kennedy Center would make them complicit in what they described as a “hostile government takeover.” Following the video’s release, the Kennedy Center terminated Forsyth’s contract, citing the video as “extremely disturbing,” particularly given their role working with minors. Subsequently, Forsyth was also dismissed from their faculty position at Johns Hopkins University. In a personal blog post, Forsyth stated that they were fired by the university days after the video’s release. | -3.0 | Read More |
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | University of Maryland | Interfraternity Council and Panhelenic Association Greek Life at University of Maryland | After receiving “allegations of misconduct” about several fraternities and sororities, the administration suspended new member program activities for all of Greek Life, as well as from having any contact with new or prospective members. Additionally, all chapters were prohibited from hosting any events where alcohol is present. Meanwhile, neither the multicultural nor historically Black Greek organizations were included in the university’s restrictions on group activities. Several of the impacted fraternities sought to limit implementation of at least some of the restrictions by petitioning for court-imposed temporary restraining orders against multiple administrators, including the university’s president. | -1.0 | Read More |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | University of Maryland | Elon Glassberg | Glassberg, the chief medical officer of the Israeli Defense Force, was scheduled to speak as part of the “surgery grand rounds academic sessions.” The university canceled Glassberg’s talk two days before the event for “security reasons” after receiving over 6,000 emails demanding it revoke Glassberg’s invitation from an online campaign led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Maryland Action Network. The university has said it plans to reschedule Glassberg’s talk. | -3.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | Johns Hopkins University | Mark Krikorian | The campus chapter of the Young America’s Foundation and the College Republicans invited Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, to campus for a speech about immigration followed by a Q&A. Less than 10 minutes into Krikorian’s speech masked protestors in the audience used their phones to set off alarms and other sounds. Some protesters began shouting over Krikorian demanding he address their questions and calling him a “racist” and a “bigot” as Krikorian continued speaking. Associate Vice Provost for Student Engagement and Dean of Students asked the protestors to demonstrate against Krikorian’s speech in a less disruptive manner, but this request was refused. Protestors also used stink sprays to fill the room with an unpleasant odor. Eventually YAF decided to end the event early so Krikorian could speak with interested students outside the room. | -2.0 | Read More |
| 2024 | University of Maryland | Jamie Raskin | Raskin was invited by the university’s Department of Physics to give the annual Irving and Renee Milchberg Endowed Lecture, and planned to give a talk titled “Democracy, Autocracy and the Threat to Reason in the 21st Century.” Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted Raskin a few minutes into his talk, shouting he was “complicit in genocide” and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Raskin attempted to engage the protesters saying he wished they would have a conversation, instead of heckling him. Protesters supporting Israel began arguing with the protesters supporting the Palestinians, forcing Raskin to end his speech early. Raskin then attempted to take questions from the audience but the shouting and arguing continued. The university president then decided to end the lecture early. | -2.0 | Read More |
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Rankings and Survey Results
Rankings and Survey Results
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