May 6 (UPI) — The University of California, Los Angeles’ medical school admissions process discriminates by race to favor Black and Hispanic applicants, the Justice Department announced Wednesday, as the Trump administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion policies in higher education.
The finding follows a year-long investigation launched in late March 2025 and is one of several Trump administration civil rights probes involving UCLA or the broader University of California system. Most have focused on alleged race-based admissions practices, diversity hiring policies and anti-Semitism tied to campus protests.
President Donald Trump has sought to rid public and private institutions of DEI and other race- or sex-conscious policies his administration characterizes as discriminatory since his first day in office in January 2025. One executive order directed the attorney general and education secretary to issue guidance to federally funded educational institutions on complying with the Supreme Court‘s 2023 ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
In a letter to the school, the Justice Department said it “finds that DGSOM continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants based on their race after the Supreme Court’s decision in Harvard by granting and denying admission on the basis of race.”
It said the school discriminated in favor of Black and Hispanic applicants in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes.
The report cites as evidence internal policies, publicly distributed literature and email correspondence by leadership at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine showing its intent to “use race in admissions decisions.”
It pointed to a document sent by the school’s executive director of admissions that emphasized “holistic review practices” should be adopted while promoting the notion that diversity in the healthcare workforce promotes the health of Black and Hispanic patients.
The Justice Department said in its letter that the implication was that “denying Black and Hispanic students admission to medical school now will injure and kill Black and Hispanic patients in the future.”
The report also cited a required multiple-choice application test and secondary application questions that the Justice Department said asked Black and Hispanic applicants to reveal their race, as well as other aspects of its admissions policy it said ran afoul of the Supreme Court decision.
To support its finding, the Trump administration cited data showing that Black and Hispanic admitted students had lower median MCAT and GPA scores compared to White, Asian and undisclosed applicants.
“DGSOM intended to discriminate against all racial groups except Black and Hispanic applicants, to accept more Black and Hispanic applicants,” the Justice Department said.
The Justice Department is seeking to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university to ensure that its admissions policies comply with Title VI as interpreted by the Supreme Court ruling.
UPI has contacted UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine for comment.
“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,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
“Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this department will not allow it.”
