Justice Department Finds UCLA Law School Illegally Used Race in Admissions

LOS ANGELES– The Justice Department found Thursday that the University of California, Los Angeles, law school illegally considered race in admissions.

The announcement follows a similar finding against the university’s medical school and comes as President Donald Trump’s administration steps up scrutiny of the colleges’ student selection processes. The administration also accused the UC Berkeley School of Law and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine of illegally discriminating against white and Asian applicants.

The UCLA School of Law said in a statement that it is committed to making admissions decisions in accordance with all applicable laws.

“Students are admitted through a comprehensive, merit-based evaluation process that takes into account each applicant’s accomplishments and experiences,” the release said. “We are confident in our process.”

Affirmative action in college admissions has been illegal since a 2023 Supreme Court ruling banned it. The same ruling indicates that colleges could continue to evaluate how well applicants’ backgrounds may match broader characteristics, but Trump accused colleges of using applicants’ personal statements and other proxies to consider race in admissions — which conservatives view as illegal discrimination.

The Justice Department’s investigation found that UCLA Law School discriminated against white and Asian American students by favoring black and Hispanic applicants in its incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Its analysis found that the average LSAT score was lower for admitted black applicants than for admitted white applicants.

The department also said law school admissions staff taught applicants during recruiting efforts, including at the “Diversity Admissions Open House,” how to disclose their race in their essays.

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School operates a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance rises or falls based on the color of your skin,” Harmeet Dhillon, chief of the department’s civil rights division, said in a press release.

Justice Department sues UCLA again, alleging anti-Semitism against students

California voters ended affirmative action in college admissions in a 1997 ballot measure. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the UC system said the change led to a precipitous decline in underrepresented minorities, particularly on the system’s most selective campuses. The brief says UC then implemented a series of race-neutral measures to increase diversity.

The Trump administration also filed a lawsuit over UCLA’s main campus’ response to allegations of anti-Semitic harassment. The administration’s latest findings set the stage for a voluntary resolution to bring UCLA into compliance with the Justice Department’s legal interpretation or, if no resolution can be reached, for possible legal action.