University of Colorado Boulder No. 5 in free speech report

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(The Center Square) – The University of Colorado Boulder is now ranked fifth in the nation for free speech.

That's according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's “2026 College Free Speech Rankings” report.

Though it's the same rating as last year, the university has been consistently trending upward in its ratings over the past few years.

The report looked at six of Colorado’s 98 colleges and universities.

University of Colorado Boulder topped the rankings for Colorado institutions. It was followed by University of Colorado Denver at 77, Colorado School of Mines at 86, Colorado State University at 113, Colorado College at 135, and University of Denver at 169. All of those colleges received a “yellow light” rating in FIRE’s Spotlight database, which means they have at least one written policy that could be used to restrict speech.

University of Colorado Boulder was the one institution in the state that received a “green light” rating, which means its written policies do not seriously threaten student expression.

Yet, FIRE warned that, while the school has taken the steps necessary to institute institutional neutrality, that does not necessarily translate into a better school environment.

“Policy commitments aside, student perceptions are above average but not stellar in any area,” the report stated. “Maintaining its top-tier overall rank will require translating strong written policies into everyday campus culture.”

Across the nation, 166 of the 257 schools surveyed got an F for their speech climate. In Colorado, three of the six universities surveyed did. Even the University of Colorado Boulder, which was ranked fifth nationally, only received a C grade.

The grade is made up of 12 parts, including how students feel about free speech on campus, school speech policies and speech controversies on campus.

Yet, the University of Colorado Boulder was one of just 11 schools that received a speech climate grade of C or higher. The highest grade given on the report was a B- at Claremont McKenna College in California, where a large number of schools got an F.

Claremont McKenna College was followed by Purdue University in Indiana, No. 2; University of Chicago, No. 3, and Michigan Technological University, No. 4.

While the Colorado School of Mines did not perform well overall on the report, it did place fourth nationally for political tolerance.

Michigan’s average speech-climate grade in the 2026 report is a D-, compared to a national average of an F. 

“Strengthening policies and expanding formal commitments to expressive rights could help those schools rise in future rankings,” the report said.

The survey ranked the 257 schools based on 68,510 student responses to a wide array of free speech-related questions. This is the sixth annual release of the report, which FIRE and College Pulse worked on together.

Overall, the state’s institutions received an average ranking of 98 out of the 257 schools surveyed. That is up seven from the last report.