DOJ says UCLA used race-based admissions for medical school
The U.S. Department of Justice said UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine used impermissible race-conscious admissions practices in incoming classes from 2023 to 2025, despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling (students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard) that bans considering race in college admissions. In a findings letter, the DOJ concluded that UCLA’s process violated federal law by effectively encouraging applicants to disclose their race.
The DOJ pointed to guidance UCLA allegedly relied on from the Association of American Medical Colleges, which it said outlined ways to maintain diversity goals without explicitly using race. Prosecutors said UCLA’s use of the AAMC PREview exam and additional application questions-such as asking whether an applicant was part of a marginalized group and how that affected them-prompted disclosures that allowed race to influence admissions.
The findings also noted that admitted Black and Hispanic applicants, on average, had lower academic metrics than white and Asian applicants, which the DOJ said supported it’s determination that race was a deciding factor. The DOJ said it did not announce any immediate penalties,while separately citing the department’s broader scrutiny of other universities,including lawsuits involving UCLA and Harvard.
The Department of Justice said Wednesday that the University of California, Los Angeles, used race-based admissions practices at its medical school, despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting such policies.
In a findings letter, the DOJ concluded that UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine discriminated against applicants based on race in its incoming classes of 2023 through 2025, in violation of federal law and the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which banned the consideration of race as part of the college admissions process.
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According to the report, admissions officials circulated guidance from the Association of American Medical Colleges that outlined ways to maintain diversity goals without explicitly using race. The DOJ said the document encouraged strategies to sidestep the ruling.
“What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly,” the document said. “The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows, and the prohibition against racial discrimination is levelled at the thing, not the name.”
The findings also scrutinized UCLA’s use of the AAMC’s PREview exam and its secondary application, which asked applicants whether they were part of a marginalized group and, if so, to explain its impact on their lives. The DOJ said those questions effectively prompted applicants to disclose their race, allowing it to factor into admissions decisions.
Investigators further found that, on average, admitted black and Hispanic applicants had lower academic metrics than white and Asian applicants, which the department said supported its conclusion that race was a determining factor.
“UCLA’s admissions process has been focused on racial demographics at the expense of merit and excellence,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said, adding that “racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the conduct was “abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles,” emphasizing that federal law and Supreme Court precedent leave no room for racial discrimination in higher education.
The DOJ did not announce any immediate penalties tied to the findings.
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The report comes as the department has scrutinized a slew of universities in recent months. Earlier this year, it sued UCLA over alleged antisemitism on campus, claiming Jewish employees faced a hostile work environment.
The department has also sued Harvard University, alleging it unlawfully withheld records related to admissions practices.
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