The University of Wisconsin-Madison received a score of 65.1 out of 100, a “D” grade in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) 2027 College Free Speech Rankings on Sept. 24, an increase from last year’s score of 58.98 and “F” grade.
The ranking places UW-Madison ahead of comparable institutions like the University of Illinois, 164th place, the University of Michigan, 166th place, and the University of Minnesota, 204th place. The University of Chicago took first place with a score of 81.4/100.
The rating ranked UW-Madison 61st out of 261 universities, climbing 40 places from last year’s ranking after launching the Wisconsin Exchange program.
The program launched in April, creating opportunities for civil debate within classes and on campus, aiming to “help students, faculty and staff engage, live and lead in a polarized world through existing campus programming and new opportunities” according to Greg Bump, expert in the department of Strategic Communications.
While UW-Madison did not have any speech controversies this past year, one occurred in 2025, which still affects the university’s score.
FIRE said UW-Madison had one major controversy around free speech: when members of Students for Justice in Palestine shouted down speaker Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former Ambassador to the United Nations who vetoed ceasefire resolutions, on Apr. 1, 2025.
FIRE also criticized UW-Madison for opening an investigation into Animal Advocacy when the group promoted action against Ridglan Farms this year.
FIRE’s rankings are based on student surveys, analysis of campus policies and speech controversies that occur across the sampled American universities.
Scores are calculated using 12 components, six of which include student perceptions of the state of free speech on campus, three that analyze policies relating to free speech on campus and three that assess overall behavior of faculty and students.
Since the 2026 ranking, UW-Madison has improved its grades in student acceptance of disrupting campus speakers to a C+, student openness in talking about controversial topics to a C, student comfortability in expressing ideas to a D and administrative support measures to a D-.
The grade for self-censorship, measuring how often students hold back on sharing their views on campus, has decreased to a D since 2026. The political tolerance grade, representing willingness from the campus and students to allow controversial speakers from either the left or right, remains an F.
“As a public university, UW–Madison is, as a matter of both law and institutional values, dedicated to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and values freedom of expression as an essential part of its educational mission,” Bump said in a statement to The Daily Cardinal.
Changes to UW-Madison’s Expressive Activity Policy account for many of the improvements in UW-Madison’s FIRE ranking, Bump said.
“[University leaders have] reviewed and revised existing protest guidelines to create a broader Expressive Activity Policy that provides additional clarity regarding the university’s rules and our reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions,” Bump said.
Though the revision claims to “protect the rights of individuals on campus to engage in expressive activity consistent with the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions,” expressive activity is further restricted, requiring protests and demonstrations to occur outside 25 feet of campus building entrances.
UW-Madison committed to the Chicago Statement for Free Speech in 2015, which plays a role in FIRE’s scoring. The statement protects students, faculty and staff members in their right to express themselves through research, learning and protest.
