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The U.S. Department of Justice has accused the University of California San Diego School of Medicine of illegally using race in its admissions process, alleging the school intentionally discriminated against White and Asian applicants in favor of Black and Brown applicants.
The allegations are outlined in an eight-page letter sent to the university Monday following a four-month federal investigation. The Justice Department examined medical school application cycles from 2019 through 2025. It alleges the admissions process violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (“SFFA”).
According to the letter, the department argues admissions officials evaluated many applicants based on whether they had overcome a “hardship.” Federal investigators allege the school used the term “hardship” as a proxy for race after replacing its previous label, “Underrepresented Minority in Medicine.”
The Justice Department claims the change was intended to skirt around a federal civil rights law violation while continuing to consider race in admissions decisions.
Attorney and law professor Nora Demleitner said it is unfair to assume that applicants who have experienced hardship are necessarily Black or Brown and the term “hardship” can provide important context about an applicant’s achievements.
“Hardship can mean so many different things, and, really what it does is it allows an applicant to put their scores and their achievements in some perspective.”
The Justice Department also points to what it describes as statistical evidence of intentional discrimination, saying admission rates for Black applicants were more than double those of White applicants for incoming classes between 2023 and 2025.
Demleitner questioned whether those figures alone provide enough context.
“Well how many people applied?” Demleitner asked and said differences in applicant pool sizes can significantly affect admission rate comparisons.
“If you have a hundred white students apply for let’s say, a class of 20 and you have five African-American students apply for a class of 20, the percentages will come out potentially very differently in all kind of different ways.”
In a statement, UC San Diego said:
UC San Diego received and is reviewing the finding letter released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
UC San Diego School of Medicine is proud to produce some of the highest-performing physicians and researchers in the nation, with residency placement rates that consistently meet or exceed national averages. 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.
UC San Diego remains committed to full compliance with federal law and welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively and constructively with the federal government to affirm that commitment.
The investigation follows similar federal investigations into alleged race-based discrimination at Stanford, UCLA, Yale and Harvard. Yale may be moving toward a settlement with the Department of Justice, while Harvard remains in active litigation.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.
