Justice Department claims UCLA admissions bias

The U.S. Justice Department said on May 6 that the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA illegally considered race in admissions, escalating a federal challenge that had already moved into court earlier this year. The department’s Civil Rights Division said a year-long investigation found that UCLA “intentionally selected applicants based on their race,” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The findings letter says the alleged conduct affected the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. ### How did the federal case against UCLA get to this point? May 9, 2025, is the date the Justice Department says it opened its Title VI inquiry into the medical school’s admissions practices. In the findings letter released on May 6, the department said it sent a notice of investigation in May 2025, followed by a supplemental request for information on Sept. 16, 2025, and then reviewed documents and data produced by the school. (justice.gov) January 28, 2026, is when the department took a second step and moved to intervene in a separate federal lawsuit over the same admissions practices. The Justice Department said that suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleged UCLA continued using race in admissions after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. CourtListener identifies that case as *Students Against Racial Discrimination v. (justice.gov) The Regents of the University of California*, filed on Feb. 3, 2025. ### What exactly does the Justice Department say UCLA did? The Justice Department said UCLA’s medical school violated Title VI by “granting and denying admission on the basis of race.” The May 6 findings letter says the department concluded the school “continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants based on their race” after reviewing admissions documents and data. The department’s public statement went further in its description of the evidence. (justice.gov) In the May 6 press release, it said documents reviewed by investigators showed UCLA leadership had adhered to the view that patients receive the best care when treated by a doctor of the same race, and it said race-focused admissions had come “at the expense of merit and excellence,” quoting Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. (justice.gov) ### What numbers is the government using to support the allegation? The Justice Department’s January complaint in intervention pointed to admissions-score gaps in UCLA’s entering class of 2023. According to the department’s summary of that filing, the class had median MCAT scores of 507 for Black and Hispanic matriculants and 514 for Asian and white matriculants. The department’s May findings letter and press release also said that, on average, admitted Black and Hispanic applicants had “consistently lower academic qualifications” than white and Asian applicants. (justice.gov) A Justice Department summary of the findings letter said UCLA’s “holistic approach” produced lower median MCAT and GPA figures for Black and Hispanic students than for other groups. (justice.gov) ### What law is the department relying on? Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the federal law at the center of the findings letter. The Justice Department said Title VI bars recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating based on race and ethnicity, and the letter says the department is applying that law as interpreted by the Supreme Court in *Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*, decided in 2023. (justice.gov) California law has long imposed a separate restriction. UCLA said in a 2023 campus FAQ that Proposition 209, approved in 1996, bars the University of California from using race, ethnicity, national origin or sex as admissions criteria. ### Has UCLA answered the latest filing? UCLA’s public sites did not show a new standalone response to the May 6 findings letter in the materials reviewed for this story. (justice.gov) UCLA’s newsroom and campus-statements pages showed other recent items, but not a posted statement directly addressing the May 6 medical-school findings. The University of California has previously said it was reviewing Justice Department demands tied to UCLA. (newsroom.ucla.edu) In an Aug. 8, 2025 statement, UC President James Milliken said the university had received a Justice Department document and was evaluating its response, while UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said the campus would work to protect faculty, students and staff. Those statements addressed broader federal actions involving UCLA, including research funding, rather than this May 6 admissions finding specifically. (newsroom.ucla.edu) ### What happens next? The May 6 findings letter says the Justice Department must first seek voluntary compliance before moving to compel compliance in court under Title VI. The letter states that if the department determines the noncompliance cannot be corrected by voluntary means, it may pursue enforcement. The separate federal lawsuit in the Central District of California remains another live track. (newsroom.ucla.edu) CourtListener lists the case as active, with the most recent known filing dated May 6, 2026, and the Justice Department has already joined that litigation. (courtlistener.com) (justice.gov)