UCLA medical school illegally uses race in admissions, Justice Department probe says
UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine has intentionally discriminated against applicants based on the race of its admissions — mostly white and Asian Americans — for the past three years, according to allegations by the US Department of Justice released Wednesday by the agency’s Civil Rights Division.
In a seven-page letter, the department wrote that the medical school “continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants because of their race after the Supreme Court’s decision in Harvard to admit and deny admissions based on race.” That 2023 decision – Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard – banned the admission of people who care about race to colleges and universities but allowed schools to consider how race affected students when they wrote about their experiences in the news.
UCLA did not immediately respond to the Justice Department report.
In January, when the Justice Department sought to join the admissions lawsuit against UCLA, university spokesman Phil Hampton said the medical school “is committed to fair practices in all of our programs and operations, including admissions, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws.”
The Justice Department said the findings follow a yearlong review conducted under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race-based discrimination by recipients of federal funds.
The investigators alleged that UCLA leadership “intentionally selected applicants based on their race” and held to “the dubious contention that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race.” The department also said black and Latino applicants, on average, had higher average MCAT scores and median scores than white and Asian American applicants.
“UCLA’s admissions process is based on racial demographics because of merit and achievement – allowing racial politics to distract the school from its important mission of training great doctors,” Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet K. Dhillon, the department’s senior human rights attorney, said in a statement. “Acceptance racism is illegal and un-American, and this department will not allow it to continue.”
The Justice Department’s action against the medical school is the latest in several moves by Republican leadership and the Trump administration to investigate allegations of wrongdoing at the University of California and its health facilities.
In August, the Justice Department sought $1.2-billion in damages from UCLA after it alleged that the institution violated federal law by using race in admissions, recognizing transgender women for their gender identity and not responding adequately to complaints of anti-Semitic allegations during the 2024 Palestinian encampment. In November, US District Judge Rita F. Lin blocked most of the settlement offer.
Wednesday’s letter to UCLA cited internal emails, training materials and UCLA’s “guidance policy” memo, which, according to the Justice Department, instructed committee chairs to ensure representation of applicants who “identify as BIPOC.” Investigators also alleged that Jennifer Lucero, the medical school’s director of admissions, “used intimidation and shaming tactics to pressure the admissions committee into illegally considering race.”
Lucero did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The findings build on a federal action filed in January, in which the Trump administration moved to private court accusing the medical school of “procedural discrimination” in favor of black and Latino applicants. That lawsuit, brought by Do No Harm, Students for Fair Admissions and a rejected white applicant, is ongoing. UCLA, which is bound by Proposition 209 not to consider race as a factor in admissions, said at the time that it would not comment on the proceedings.
The Justice Department said it wanted a voluntary settlement with UCLA but said it would pursue legal action if no agreement is reached.
