The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights launched investigations into five additional medical schools for alleged racial discrimination in admissions.
The investigations are part of a joint effort with HHS and the Justice Departments’ civil rights offices to eliminate alleged racial discrimination in medical school admissions processes across the U.S., according to a July 22 department news release.
So far, the Justice Department said it found four medical schools had admissions policies that favored Black and Hispanic applicants over their white and Asian counterparts. In June, the department announced 15 new investigations into medical schools, but did not name them.
Here are the five medical schools the Department of Education is investigating, as of July 22:
- Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine (Hanover, N.H.)
- East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine (Greenville, N.C.)
- St. Louis University School of Medicine
- Western University of Health Sciences (Pomona, Calif.)
- William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
Medical schools respond
The affected medical schools told Becker’s they received notice of the investigation late July 21.
“East Carolina University received notice of the self-directed Department of Education investigation late Tuesday afternoon,” a university spokesperson told Becker’s. “The University, including the Brody School of Medicine, complies with the Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, related Presidential Executive Orders and other federal, state and University of North Carolina System guidance. The university will respond to the department in accordance with applicable law.”
“This is not a finding of wrongdoing,” a spokesperson for Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine told Becker’s. “We remain confident in Geisel’s admissions process and will respond to the Department of Education’s request for information in due course, consistent with applicable law.”
A spokesperson at Western University of Health Sciences told Becker’s it complies with all state and federal laws governing its admissions practices.
Background
In August 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ensure transparency in admissions for higher education and to end DEI programs. As a result, according to the Department of Education, over 300 colleges and universities have eliminated DEI requirements and closed DEI offices; over 45 removed DEI statements and messaging from university programs and websites; at least 15 eliminated the use of diversity in hiring faculty or staff; at least 95 eliminated DEI faculty, renamed positions or shifted staff to new roles and at least 175 removed or restructured DEI offices or centers at their institutions.
Becker’s reached out to all of the universities and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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