(The Center Square) – Georgia Tech ranked third in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s College Free Speech Rankings 2027, earning a C-plus.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, known as FIRE, spoke to 63,000 college students at 261 American campuses.
Three other Georgia universities were ranked in the report, and all received a D letter grade. Emory University ranked 68th based on 297 survey responses. Georgia State ranked 92nd with 265 responses, and the University of Georgia had the lowest ranking at 97th based on 314 responses.
Overall, Georgia institutions received a D-plus ranking, an improvement over FIRE’s 2026 report. The state’s universities improved in openness, comfort in expressing ideas and administrative support. Improvement was also noted for disruptive conduct, which is described as “students acceptance of shouting down speakers, blocking access to events, and using violence to stop campus speech.”
The report comes a year after the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
“The impact of Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to negatively reverberate on campuses across the country,” said FIRE Chief Researcher Sean Stevens. “Rather than view the tragedy as a warning about the extreme results of partisanship and inability to peacefully engage in dialogue, many college admins took it as an invitation to double down on censorship.”
The University of Chicago topped the survey results. Claremont McKenna College was second and Michigan Technological University fourth.
New York University is at the bottom of the list, followed by the University of Washington, Texas State University, Northeastern University, and Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
No university scored above a B-minus.
“At a tumultuous time for higher education, we are seeing some progress in campus free speech policies and indications that students may be less willing to tolerate shoutdowns and violence on campus compared to recent years,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. “But the overall state of free speech on campus is grim. Too many college administrators wield their power to cancel controversial speakers, cave to government or student calls for censorship, and limit academic freedom.”