The Justice Department has concluded that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, unlawfully factored race into its admissions decisions, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration's scrutiny of college admissions practices. The finding, announced on Wednesday, intensifies the ongoing conflict between the administration and UCLA, which has primarily centered on the main campus's handling of antisemitic harassment allegations.
Investigation Findings
The year-long investigation revealed that UCLA's medical school discriminated against white and Asian American applicants by favoring Black and Hispanic candidates. The department cited admissions data from 2023 and 2024 showing that admitted Black and Hispanic students had lower average grade-point averages and test scores compared to their white and Asian American peers. For instance, in 2024, the average GPA for admitted Black students was 3.72, while Asian American students averaged 3.84 and white students 3.83.
According to Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, these disparities indicate that the medical school employed non-academic criteria to achieve diversity objectives. “As a result of these practices, highly qualified White, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race,” she stated in a letter detailing the findings.
Legal Context and Implications
The use of affirmative action in college admissions has been prohibited since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. The Trump administration has accused colleges of circumventing this ban by using personal statements and other indirect methods to consider race—a practice conservatives view as illegal discrimination. The Justice Department opened similar investigations in March into medical school admissions at Stanford University, Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego. Additionally, the administration has targeted undergraduate admissions at selective institutions, demanding data to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
The finding against UCLA sets the stage for a voluntary resolution to align the medical school's practices with the Justice Department's legal interpretation. If no agreement is reached, potential legal action could follow, including penalties such as the loss of federal funding. UCLA's medical school did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a related development, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in March challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data demonstrating they are not considering race in admissions. The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling allows colleges to consider how race has influenced applicants' lives if they voluntarily disclose that information in their essays, but the administration contends that many institutions are using this as a loophole to continue race-conscious admissions.
