In the nonprofit's 2025 college free speech scorecard, Harvard and Columbia rank last.

For the second year in a row, Harvard University's "poor" free speech climate earned it the lowest ranking among 251 colleges and universities scored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

This year, Harvard is no longer the only university with an overall score of 0.00. Columbia University also ranks 250 and has the same score.

According to the report, the bottom-five colleges were New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and Barnard College.

For its annual College Free Speech Rankings, FIRE, a nonprofit that supports the First Amendment, collaborated with College Pulse to survey thousands of students about the free speech climates on their campuses.

According to Sean Stevens, FIRE's chief research adviser, the organization is attempting to give students an idea of which colleges offer the most diverse perspectives.

The college is dedicated to safeguarding academic freedom and the right to express oneself, as well as promoting open and respectful dialogue among students, faculty, and staff, according to a Barnard spokesperson who spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital.

This school year, a faculty committee at Barnard will create a unique framework based on the Chicago Principles, which have been adopted by the school and were previously endorsed by FIRE.

On Wednesday, Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania declined to provide comment.

Since FIRE began ranking schools in 2020, the bottom-five colleges and universities have been consistently bad performers, with incidents of speech censorship, suppression, and shouting down occurring at all of them, according to Stevens.

""Speakers are often punished when controversies arise, with disinvitations, sanctions, or other consequences," Stevens stated."

The poor performers share another notable trait, according to FIRE's analysis.

Stevens stated that the majority of students are extremely displeased with the administration's reaction to protests during the past year.

The Hamas attack on Israel in October and the resulting conflict had a significant impact on American college and university campuses, as reported by FIRE. In April, protesters occupied the South Lawn at Columbia for nearly two weeks before police dispersed the encampment.

Since the commencement of the encampments, there was a significant rise in the percentage of Columbia students who reported self-censoring during classroom discussions or interactions with professors and peers.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of free speech, the University of Virginia was ranked number one. Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University, and Georgia Institute of Technology followed closely behind in the top five.

The full rankings can be viewed here.

When controversies arose, administrators of well-performing schools typically defended speech rights.

He expressed the hope that parents and potential students would utilize FIRE's ranking tool to make more informed decisions. Additionally, the tool offers a comprehensive analysis of the liberal-conservative ratio on campuses and provides a deeper understanding of student attitudes towards free expression.

Stevens stated that students who undergo open inquiry and the process of having their views challenged will be better prepared to become "adult citizens in our country" upon graduation.

In total, FIRE and College Pulse surveyed students at 251 schools, excluding six from the main rankings and giving them "warning" ratings.

According to the FIRE report, Pepperdine University, Hillsdale College, and Brigham Young University all have policies that prioritize other values over a commitment to freedom of speech.