DOJ Accuses UC Davis School of Medicine of Racial Discrimination in Admissions

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced last week that it found the University of California, Davis School of Medicine (Davis Med) discriminates based on race in its admissions process, violating a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The Justice Department alleges Davis Med adopted admissions practices with the express purpose of circumventing the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which affirmative action in higher education admissions. Documents obtained by the DOJ show that Davis Med leadership allegedly boasted about skirting the Supreme Court’s ruling by using proxies for race such as “socioeconomic variables” or “disadvantages.”

The DOJ further alleges that Davis Med created the “Davis Scale,” which ranks an applicant based upon perceived “disadvantages” while strategically adjusting the impact of his or her GPA and MCAT scores.

The DOJ’s review of Davis Med admission rates found black and Hispanic applicants were admitted at rates up to six times higher than whites and Asians, despite consistently having, on average, lower academic qualifications. In 2024, Davis Med had one of the most racially diverse medical schools in the country, according to the DOJ.

UC Davis said in a statement that it was disappointed by the DOJ report and its conclusions.

“UC Davis School of Medicine strongly disagrees with any characterization of its admissions practices as discriminatory or inconsistent with applicable law,” the school said. “The report’s findings do not accurately reflect the school’s rigorous, individualized, and merit-based admissions process and our firm commitment to complying with applicable federal and state antidiscrimination laws.”

Topics K-12