As the Justice Department probes admissions policies at several medical schools, the department said May 6 a yearlong investigation has found evidence of UCLA’s medical school discriminating on the basis of race.
In a seven-page public report, the Justice Department said the University of California, Los Angeles’ David Geffen School of Medicine “implemented numerous and wide-ranging race-neutral measures designed to increase … racial diversity.” In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities cannot consider race as a factor for admissions.
In 2023, 2024 and 2025 admission cycles, the medical school “discriminated against other applicants to benefit preferred race classes of Black and Hispanic,” according to the Justice Department.
The report comes about a month after the department launched similar investigations into medical school admissions processes at Stanford (Calif.) University, Columbus-based Ohio State University and the University of California San Diego.
A spokesperson for UCLA’s medical school told Becker’s the school’s admissions process is rigorous, comprehensive and based on the merit of each applicant.
“We are carefully reviewing the Department of Justice’s report,” the spokesperson said. “The David Geffen School of Medicine is committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws.”
Nearly 1,000 students are enrolled in UCLA’s medical school, according to the university.
