New York University has been ranked as America’s worst college for free speech. In its annual rankings of speech restriction on campus, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has rated NYU the lowest of the 261 colleges sampled, with a score of 44.97 out of 100. The university’s speech “climate” ranking is a graded “F”, meaning it has a “poor overall environment” for free expression.

Over 62,000 students were surveyed, and the report based its rankings on metrics including the school’s speech-related policies, how often a university bars speakers, and how comfortable students feel in expressing their opinion without the fear of violent repercussions. This was the first report since the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University last September.

The report explained that NYU achieved its low ranking “because of penalties incurred for its handling of a number of speech controversies”. The controversies, as listed in the report, include a high-profile case from March of this year where administrators barred students from inviting multiple performers affiliated with No Music For Genocide — an international protest movement in which artists remove their music from streaming in Israel — to the university’s annual V100 concert. Another example from this year included when administrators directed the campus chapter of Jews Against Zionism to “immediately remove” an Instagram post advertising a Passover Seder.

NYU has previously been involved in free speech controversies. In 2024, hundreds of students and faculty demanded that the university remove all funding to Israel-linked investments. Students then protested by starting encampments on campus grounds and organising marches against administrators. NYU called in the police to clear the encampments, resulting in 120 arrests, which was protested by faculty members who demanded the resignation of university president Linda Mills. While multiple no-confidence motions were passed against Mills, she did not resign; at the same time, New York police did not charge those who were arrested.

In 2025, the university cancelled a Federalist Society event with Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, over safety concerns related to the potential backlash to his pro-Israel views. The university later reversed its decision, following opposition from free-speech advocates.

This year, Times Higher Education ranked NYU as the 31st best university in the world and 19th in the United States. The student population of the university is roughly 60,000, meaning it has the sixth-largest campus in the country.

FIRE’s free speech score for NYU has gradually decreased in recent years. In 2021, the university ranked 68th out of 159 universities, but by last year it had fallen to 250th out of 257. Last year, Barnard College, a private institution, was ranked lowest with a score of 41. However, this year the college has a score of 55.45, which the report notes as one of the most improved marks.

Students interviewed by FIRE criticised the state of free speech on US college campuses. One student, who described themselves as “very conservative” in the report, said that they had “personally heard threats on campus of violence towards those who share opinions with right-wing figures like Charlie Kirk”.