Campus Pride's 2021 BEST OF THE BEST LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities

HOW DID WE CHOOSE THE BEST OF THE BEST?

Campus Pride chose thirty campuses this year for the 2021 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities List. This is based on the campuses overall ratings on the Campus Pride Index and specific LGBTQ-inclusive benchmark measures. In order to be in the “Best of the Best” listing, an institution had to score the highest percentages in the LGBTQ-friendly benchmarks for policies, programs and practices.

The Campus Pride Index, currently 435+ campuses, is the premier national benchmarking tool which self-assesses LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs and practices. The tool is free of charge to the public and can be found online at CampusPrideIndex.org. Campus Pride also launched six years ago, the Campus Pride Sports Index which measures LGBTQ progress in athletics and recreation online. The tool is slowly growing with college sports participants and can be found online at CampusPrideSportsIndex.org

WHY THIS LISTING IS VALUABLE TO LGBTQ YOUTH & FAMILIES?

For the last fifteen years, Campus Pride continues to be the most trusted, reliable educational resource for students and families to find the best campuses for LGBTQ inclusion and safety. The organization works alongside students, faculty, staff and administrators at 1400+ campuses annually to help support and improve the quality of campus life for LGBTQ people.

“LGBTQ youth and families want to know what campuses are doing when it comes to inclusive policies, programs and practices. The ‘Best of the Best’ highlights the Top 30 this year across six regions throughout the country,’” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride and creator of the Campus Pride Index. “Campus Pride applauds the growing number of campuses that are ‘coming out’ and wanting to be the ‘Best of the Best’ each year.”

WHERE CAN I FIND THESE & OTHER LGBTQ-FRIENDLY COLLEGES?

Many of these BEST OF THE BEST campuses and others can be found with full LGBTQ-friendly profiles on the Campus Pride Index by searching across regions. In addition, you can find several featured in the Campus Pride Spotlight Series online via video interviews at CampusPride.org/CampusSpotlight. Many of these campuses also participate annually in Campus Pride’s LGBTQ-friendly college fair program. Learn more online at CampusPride.org/CollegeFair

Any questions or more information, please contact Campus Pride by phone at 704-277-6710 or by email info@campuspride.org

WHAT ABOUT LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

This year Campus Pride is highlighting a list of the Top 8 Community Colleges Leading the Way for LGBTQ Inclusion. These eight community colleges chosen below have all scored 3.5 stars or above on the Campus Pride Index. There are currently over 40 + community colleges on the Campus Pride Index and the number of two year colleges seeking LGBTQ-inclusive support and resources continues to grow each year.

WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS THAT ARE DOING POSITIVE LGBTQ EFFORTS?

Religiously affiliated universities often are not associated with LGBT friendliness or visibility. Since 2007, many religious universities have looked to Campus Pride for self-assessment. This year Campus Pride is highlighting 10 Religious Schools Living Up to LGBTQ-Inclusive Values. These ten campuses are perfect examples of different religiously affiliated universities that are doing positive work for LGBTQ youth on their campus. Campus Pride highlights this positive LGBTQ inclusivity work in policy, program and practice to encourage more faith-based institutions to do the sam