US Justice Department Determines UC Davis School Of Medicine Upheld Discriminatory Practices In Admissions Process

The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division says the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine engaged in discriminatory admissions practices.

According to a press release, the six-month investigation examined the medical school’s admissions process and found it violated the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which restricted race-conscious admissions practices at colleges.

The Civil Rights Division said UC Davis leadership allegedly bragged about “skirting” the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling and did so by using “socioeconomic variables,” including family income, parental education, or geographic location as proxies for race, the press release stated. It said that the “Davis Scale” was also created, which ranked the “disadvantages” of an applicant to offset GPA and MCAT scores.

The Civil Rights Division said that Black and Hispanic applications were admitted at rates six times higher than those of white and Asian applicants. This was despite 93% of white and Hispanic applications having MCAT scores that were above or average than their Black counterparts, according to the press release. The medical school is the third most racially diverse in the U.S.

“Davis Med’s actions reflect both unabashed contempt for the rule of law and plain disregard for the potential public health consequences of putting race over merit, skill, and competence,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, according to the press release. “The Department will not allow schools to violate federal law without consequence.”

UC Davis School of Medicine has responded to the matter, according to CBS News.

“UC Davis School of Medicine strongly disagrees with any characterization of its admissions practices as discriminatory or inconsistent with applicable law,” the school’s spokesperson said in an email. “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. UC Davis is fully committed to meeting the critical healthcare needs of California, particularly those in underserved and under-resourced areas.”