Justice Department Finds UCLA Medical School Discriminated Based on Race in Admissions

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has concluded a year-long investigation into the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, determining that the school discriminated based on race in its admissions process, federal officials announced Wednesday.

The investigation found evidence that UCLA’s leadership intentionally selected applicants based on race, according to the department’s findings. Documents reviewed by the division indicate that UCLA adhered to the view that patients receive better care when treated by a doctor of the same race, rather than by the most qualified candidate.

“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racism in admissions is both illegal and anti-American, and this Department will not allow it to continue.”

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California added: “Federal law and the Supreme Court precedent are clear: Race discrimination has no place in our nation’s institutions of higher learning. The pattern of illegal and odious conduct by UCLA’s medical school is abhorrent to our Constitution and our nation’s founding principles.”

The investigation showed that admitted Black and Hispanic applicants had consistently lower average academic qualifications than their white and Asian counterparts. Data cited by the department showed that among Black students admitted in 2024, the average GPA was 3.72, compared with 3.84 for Asian Americans and 3.83 for white students. The department said this was evidence that 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,” Dhillon said in a letter of findings.

The department also took issue with an application document that invited students to volunteer whether they are part of a marginalized group and, if so, to discuss its impact. The question was included in the application process in 2024 and 2025, according to the department.

The letter to UCLA cited internal emails, training materials, and a UCLA “guiding principles” memo that, according to the Justice Department, instructed committee chairs to ensure representation of applicants who “identify as BIPOC” (Black, Indigenous and people of color). Investigators also alleged that Jennifer Lucero, the medical school’s associate dean of admissions, “used intimidation and shaming tactics to pressure the admissions committee to unlawfully consider race.” Lucero did not respond to a request for comment.

The David Geffen School of Medicine said in a written statement that its admissions process is “based on merit” and that it is committed to complying with state and federal laws. The school said it is reviewing the Justice Department’s findings.

The determination escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment. Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, though the same ruling said colleges could continue to assess how applicants’ backgrounds might speak to broader characteristics.

In March, the Justice Department opened investigations into possible race-based discrimination in medical school admissions at Stanford University, Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego. The administration has previously targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are complying with the Supreme Court ruling.

The findings build on a federal action filed in January, when the Trump administration moved to join a private lawsuit accusing the medical school of a “systemically racist approach” favoring Black and Latino applicants. That suit, brought by Do No Harm, Students for Fair Admissions, and a rejected white applicant, is ongoing. UCLA, which is bound by Proposition 209 to not consider race as a factor in admissions, said at the time it does not comment on pending litigation.

Medical schools receive substantial federal financial assistance and are subject to federal non-discrimination laws. The department stated it will continue to monitor compliance with federal law.