Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday alleged that the University of California, Los Angeles' medical school "intentionally selected applicants based on their race" in its admission process, violating civil rights law and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions.
- Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, alleged in her findings letter that UCLA's medical school illegally preferenced Black and Hispanic applicants, discriminating against prospective students of all other races.
- A spokesperson for the medical school said Thursday that its admissions process is merit-based and "grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant." The institution is "committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws," they said.
Dive Insight:
UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine is one of the top-rated medical schools in the country. It is also highly selective, accepting just 2.8% of applicants, according to U.S. News and World Report.
But Geffen's admissions process, according to the DOJ, is unconstitutional and violates Title VI, which bars federally funded institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin.
“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence — allowing racial politics to distract the school from the vital work of training great doctors,” Dhillon said in a Wednesday statement.
The DOJ accused Geffen officials of trying to work around the 2023 Supreme Court ruling. For example, the medical school asked applicants to "identify as being part of a marginalized group, with a follow up question about the impact," according to the agency.
"By design, this question asks Black and Hispanic applicants to reveal their race so that [Geffen] can know and consider it," the DOJ alleged.
Race-conscious admissions practices, along with affirmative action programs, have been banned in California since 1996.
A Geffen spokesperson defended the school's admissions policies on Thursday and said its officials are "confident in our practices and our mission to maintain access to a high-quality education for all qualified students."
In its statement, the DOJ questioned Geffen’s motives, alleging the school made admissions decisions based on the "dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified."
A 2025 peer-reviewed study, led in part by UCLA medical faculty, found that older Hispanic patients treated by Hispanic surgeons spent less time in the hospital and were less likely to be readmitted for complications. Researchers did not find a difference in outcomes for Black patients, which a UCLA analysis said was likely due to how few were treated by Black surgeons.
Previous peer-reviewed research has found evidence that Black and Hispanic patients regularly experience poorer communication and less agency in medical situations than their White counterparts. And an oft-cited 2002 study found that patients reported being more satisfied with their care being treated by a doctor from the same race or ethnic background as them.
Wednesday's findings from the DOJ continue the Trump administration's barrage of probes and accusations against UCLA and the University of California system.
Over the last year, the federal government has alleged UCLA failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment, sued it over claims of workplace antisemitism, and attempted to coerce the university into paying a $1.2 billion penalty to release $584 million in suspended funding.
A federal judge ordered the suspended funding released, and the Trump administration dropped its billion-dollar effort in February.
This style of federal bombardment is not unique to the UC system.
Trump's DOJ, along with the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services, have opened dozens of civil rights investigations into colleges, often citing the 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
In addition to its findings against Geffen, the Trump administration has similarly alleged that Harvard University and the California State University system — two other common targets of President Donald Trump's ire — have violated civil rights law and threatened their federal funding. Both institutions are currently suing the administration over allegations of due process violations and governmental overreach.
