SAN DIEGO — The Department of Justice is accusing the UC San Diego School of Medicine of racial discrimination in its admissions process, continuing a trend of Trump administration investigations into race-conscious admissions at higher education institutions.
In a letter sent to UC San Diego this week, the DOJ alleges the school intentionally manipulated applicant data with the intent of discriminating “in favor of so-called underrepresented minorities, such as blacks and Hispanics.”
The findings come after a DOJ investigation that began in March into UC San Diego and other schools, which aimed to determine whether the schools were complying with a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision barring race-conscious admissions at colleges and universities.
“Rather than rely on MCAT scores or GPA, San Diego Med’s shadow application process unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. “San Diego Med’s blatant efforts to prioritize race are illegal, and we will end these practices.”
UC San Diego said it was reviewing the DOJ’s letter, but said “All applicants to the school’s Doctor of Medicine program must meet strict academic thresholds, a requirement that is and was applied uniformly to all applicants.”
In its letter, the DOJ alleges the school’s admissions staff used “hardship” questions, in which applicants describe how they overcame certain disadvantages, to determine an applicant’s race and ensure minorities receive interviews. The DOJ said an examination of test scores among different racial groups “indicated that a black or Hispanic student had a substantially higher likelihood of being admitted than a white or Asian student with the same academic credentials.”
The Justice Department said it is seeking “to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university to ensure that its admissions practices are brought into compliance.”
