Justice Department Finds UCLA Medical School Discriminated in 2023–25 Admissions

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it has found the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA discriminated on the basis of race in admissions for the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025, escalating a dispute that had already drawn private litigation into a formal federal civil rights finding.

In a findings letter dated May 6, the department’s Civil Rights Division said a yearlong investigation concluded that the medical school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars race discrimination by institutions that receive federal funding. The department said it is seeking a voluntary resolution agreement with UCLA to bring the admissions process into compliance, and warned it can pursue enforcement if voluntary compliance is not reached.

The findings mark a significant step beyond allegations made in court filings. According to the letter, the Justice Department opened its Title VI inquiry on May 9, 2025, and sent a supplemental request for information on Sept. 16, 2025. The department said the school “continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants based on their race” even after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard sharply limited the use of race in admissions.

The Justice Department said its conclusions were based on internal emails, admissions guidance materials and admissions data. Among the practices it cited were use of an Association of American Medical Colleges “holistic metrics” wheel that explicitly included race and national origin, use of the AAMC PREview exam and secondary application questions that the department said could reveal race, and internal guidance and communications that it said encouraged admissions decisions aimed at increasing Black and Hispanic matriculants.

The letter also pointed to disparities in academic metrics among admitted students. For the 2023 incoming class, the department said admitted Black students had a median MCAT score and GPA of 507 and 3.63, and admitted Hispanic students had a median 507 and 3.55, compared with 514 and 3.81 for admitted Asian students and 514 and 3.75 for admitted white students. The department said similar disparities appeared in 2024 and continued into 2025.

In the findings letter, the department wrote that “we have found that DGSOM has violated this standard by discriminating on the basis of race in the incoming classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025.” In a Justice Department press release, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said, “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.”

Title VI applies to schools and universities that receive federal funding, including UCLA’s medical school. The Justice Department’s analysis explicitly relies on the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the 2023 case that sharply restricted race-conscious admissions policies at colleges and universities.

The federal finding comes against the backdrop of related litigation. A private class-action lawsuit was filed May 8, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by Students for Fair Admissions, Do No Harm and an individual plaintiff. The Justice Department separately announced Jan. 28, 2026, that it had moved to intervene in that case.

The findings letter cited internal communications involving Alisa Lopez, identified as executive director of admissions, and Jennifer Lucero, identified as associate dean of admissions, as part of the department’s review of the school’s process.

No detailed UCLA response to Wednesday’s findings was available in the source material reviewed for this report.