An article fromDOJ accuses UC Davis medical school of illegally using race in admissions

The agency took aim at the Davis Scale, a metric tracking socioeconomic advantage that has helped the institution maintain diversity in its student body.

Published June 10, 2026Laura Spitalniak Editor

• Share
  • Copy link
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • X/Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print
• License
• Add us on Google

The University of California, Davis' campus in Davis, Calif. The image by David Phillips for UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is licensed under CC BY 2.0Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday alleged that the University of California, Davis’ medical school violated civil rights law by adopting "admissions practices with the express purpose of circumventing” the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions.

According to the agency's findings, the medical school admitted 1.4% of White applicants and nearly 8% of Black and Hispanic applicants in 2024. This was "despite the fact that the average GPA and MCAT scores for those minority applicants were significantly lower than the white applicants they competed against," DOJ said.

The university did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday.

if (window.dfp_visibility === 'mobile' ) googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.defineSlot( '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid1', [[300, 250], 'fluid'], 'dfp-hybrid1-mobile' ).addService(googletag.pubads()); ); waitToLoadAds.push(function() googletag.cmd.push(function() if (window.dfp_visibility === 'mobile' ) window.onDvtagReady?.(() => googletag.display('dfp-hybrid1-mobile')); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) var adUnitPath = '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid1'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-mobile'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid1-mobile'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') ); ); ); if (window.dfp_visibility === 'desktop' ) googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.defineSlot( '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2', [[300, 250], 'fluid'], 'dfp-hybrid2-desktop' ).addService(googletag.pubads()); ); waitToLoadAds.push(function() googletag.cmd.push(function() if (window.dfp_visibility === 'desktop' ) window.onDvtagReady?.(() => googletag.display('dfp-hybrid2-desktop')); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) var adUnitPath = '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-desktop'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid2-desktop'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') ); ); );

DOJ said it will sue the UC Davis School of Medicine, along with any other medical school it determines have violated the law, if it deems that settlement negotiations fail to bring those institutions back into compliance.

DOJ’s allegations against UC Davis

Since the high court handed down its race-conscious admissions ban, UC Davis' medical school has promoted the use of its Davis Scale, which it calls a "socio-economic disadvantage metric.”

The scale considers factors like an applicant's family income and receipt of need-based scholarships during undergraduate studies, according to the university. "These elements provide a fuller picture of each applicant’s educational opportunities along their way to medical school," it said in a 2024 post.

UC Davis has touted the scale as one of the ways it became "the third-most diverse medical school in the country” without race-conscious admissions. Almost half of its medical students belonged to historically underrepresented groups, the university said in 2024.

DOJ on Wednesday alleged the Davis Scale is an intentional and illegal effort by the medical school to bypass federal and state law.

Race-conscious admissions practices, along with affirmative action programs, have been banned in California since 1996.

In a statement, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, accused UC Davis' medical school of demonstrating "unabashed contempt for the rule of law" and of "putting race over merit, skill, and competence."

Mark Henderson, the medical school’s associate dean of admissions, described its focus on applicants’ socioeconomic status as a form of "class-based affirmative action" in a March 2023 interview with STAT News.

"Class struggles have a huge overlap with race — that's how we skirted the issue," he said prior to the Supreme Court ruling.

The agency also cited a New York Times interview with Henderson published in July 2023.

Henderson told the paper that the Davis Scale would be defensible in court, should UC Davis be sued over it.

“Am I worried about it? Yes,” he said at the time. “Is it going to stop me? No.”

if (window.dfp_visibility === 'mobile' ) googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.defineSlot( '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2', [[300, 250], 'fluid'], 'dfp-hybrid2-mobile' ).addService(googletag.pubads()); ); waitToLoadAds.push(function() googletag.cmd.push(function() if (window.dfp_visibility === 'mobile' ) window.onDvtagReady?.(() => googletag.display('dfp-hybrid2-mobile')); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) var adUnitPath = '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-mobile'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper #dfp-hybrid2-mobile'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') ); ); ); The Trump administration escalates federal probes into medical schools

DOJ under the Trump administration has dramatically ramped up scrutiny of medical school admissions practices. 

For example, the agency last month accused the medical schools at Yale University and the University of California, Los Angeles of illegally giving Black and Hispanic applicants an advantage in admissions.

However, public information about investigations like these has been scattershot.

Last week, DOJ opened 15 civil rights probes into medical school admissions but did not name the colleges under investigation. 

And at least three other medical schools — those at Ohio State University, Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego — have reportedly been under investigation since March over their alleged use of race in their admissions. DOJ did not confirm the existence of these investigations publicly after The New York Times first reported the story.

DOJ said Wednesday that its findings on UC Davis' medical school resulted from a six-month investigation into the school's admissions practices. The agency did not publicize the investigation prior to releasing its findings.

• Add us on Google
• Share
  • Copy link
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • X/Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print
  • License

Filed Under: Federal Policy /* Keep this hidden until we need to show the v2 challenge. */ .captcha-container display: none; (function () )(); Higher Ed Dive news delivered to your inbox

Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts

Email:

• Select user consent: By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe at anytime.

Sign up A valid email address is required. Please select at least one newsletter.Editors' picks

• Spencer Platt via Getty ImagesMoody’s lowers Columbia University’s outlook to negative

  In its decision earlier this month, the credit rating agency cited federal pressure on the Ivy League institution and uncertainty around international enrollment.

  By Laura Spitalniak • May 11, 2026
• Retrieved from Senate Appropriations Committee on April 28, 20263 insights from McMahon’s testimony on the Education Department’s budget proposal

  Lawmakers grilled U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the agency’s dismantling, its handling of civil rights cases and the future of TRIO. 

  By Natalie Schwartz • April 28, 2026

/* Keep this hidden until we need to show the v2 challenge. */ .captcha-container display: none; (function () )();

Keep up with the story. Subscribe to the Higher Ed Dive free daily newsletter

Email:

• Select user consent: By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe at anytime.

Sign up A valid email address is required. Please select at least one newsletter. var siteName = 'Higher Ed Dive' || null; if (siteName) setupFormCallbackAndCreateFormIfSub(siteName, 'inline'); $(document).ready(function () // copy the contents of the generic_signup partial into the desktop_signup_spot $desktop_signup_spot = $("#desktop-inline-signup"); $desktop_signup = $("#inline-signup-html-desktop").children(); $desktop_signup_spot.append($desktop_signup); $("#inline-signup-html-desktop").remove(); );