The Justice Department has determined that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) medical school illegally considered race in its admissions process, intensifying the Trump administration's scrutiny of college selection methods.
This finding escalates an existing dispute with UCLA, previously focused on allegations of antisemitic harassment at its main campus. UCLA’s medical school did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Affirmative action in college admissions was outlawed by a 2023 Supreme Court ruling. The Trump administration alleges institutions are now using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which conservatives deem illegal discrimination.
The Justice Department also opened investigations in March into potential race-based discrimination in medical school admissions at Stanford, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego.
The Trump administration previously has targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are complying with the Supreme Court ruling.
The Justice Department’s year-long investigation into UCLA found its medical school discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring Black and Hispanic applicants.
As part of its evidence, the department cited data showing admitted students who were Black or Hispanic had lower average grade-point averages and test scores in 2023 and 2024. Among Black students admitted in 2024, the average GPA was 3.72, for example, compared with 3.84 for Asian Americans and 3.83 for white students.
The department says that’s evidence the medical school was using non-academic factors to achieve diversity goals.
“As a result of these practices, highly qualified White, Asian, and other students were denied admission on the basis of their race,” said Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department’s Civil Rights Division, in a letter of findings.
The finding sets the stage for a voluntary resolution to bring UCLA into compliance with the Justice Department’s legal interpretation or, if none can be reached, potential legal action. Penalties could include a loss of federal funding.
The Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of affirmative action in admissions said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump has raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race.
In March, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren’t considering race in admissions.
