US Ed Dept Ends Race-Based Criteria for McNair Program
The U.S. Department of Education has ended its use of race-based criteria for the federal McNair Scholars Program, which supports doctoral students from underrepresented groups. The decision was prompted by litigation and brings the grant's eligibility in line with the Supreme Court’s recent restrictions on race-conscious admissions in higher education.
- The lawsuit that prompted the change was filed in August 2024 by the conservative group Young America's Foundation (YAF) and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) on behalf of two white students, Avery Durfee from the University of North Dakota and Benjamin Rothove from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. - The legal challenge argued that the program's eligibility criteria, which favored certain racial and ethnic groups, violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. The specific groups listed as "underrepresented in graduate education" included Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, and Native American Pacific Islander. - A December 2025 Department of Justice legal memo concluded that the race-based classifications in the McNair program were unconstitutional, prompting the Department of Education to cease defending these provisions in court. - The McNair Program is one of eight federal TRIO programs designed to support disadvantaged students; in fiscal year 2024, it distributed over $60 million to colleges and universities. - Annually, the McNair program provides financial support, research opportunities, and faculty mentorship to nearly 6,000 students across more than 200 institutions. - While the race-based criteria have been removed, the program's focus on serving low-income and first-generation college students remains, with these two groups required to make up at least two-thirds of the participants in any university's McNair project. - The Department of Education has confirmed it will implement these changes through a forthcoming rulemaking process, although a specific timeline has not been announced. - The plaintiffs voluntarily dropped their lawsuit in February 2026 following the Department of Education's agreement to eliminate the race-based criteria.
