Charlotte Ranks #9 In College Free Speech Rankings
UNC Charlotte moved up 13 spots to No. 9 in the 2025 College Free Speech Rankings, released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse.
The national rankings help parents and prospective students identify colleges that promote and protect the free exchange of ideas, according to FIRE. This is the third consecutive year FIRE has ranked UNC Charlotte among the nation’s top universities for free expression and the first time it has placed in the top 10.
“This ranking reflects the hard work of our faculty, including the Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue Task Force established by our Faculty Council in 2022,” said UNC Charlotte Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and General Counsel Jesh Humphrey. “Faculty have been the driving force behind a campus culture that embraces open and civil discourse. Their deliberate efforts help UNC Charlotte students develop the skills to engage in constructive dialogue with differing viewpoints.”
FIRE said the ranking is based on the voices of over 58,000 currently enrolled students at over 250 colleges.
Charlotte is one of four UNC System institutions to receive an “above average” score along with North Carolina State University, UNC Greensboro and East Carolina University.
In 2023, UNC Charlotte received the Heterodox Academy’s 2023 Open Inquiry Award for Institutional Excellence award for its work to promote free expression and for serving as role models for other research institutions.
UNC Charlotte became one of the first universities to earn FIRE’s highest “green light” rating in 2017 for its commitment to free speech. This rating represents FIRE’s highest recognition for speech-related policies.