Justice Department Finds UC Davis Med Used Race Proxies, Admitting Some Groups at 6 Times Higher Rates
Updated
Updated · Department of Justice · Jun 10
Justice Department Finds UC Davis Med Used Race Proxies, Admitting Some Groups at 6 Times Higher Rates
3 articles · Updated · Department of Justice · Jun 10
Summary
A six-month Justice Department investigation found UC Davis School of Medicine violated the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative-action ban by structuring admissions to boost underrepresented minorities.
Documents cited by the department said school leaders sought to “skirt” the ruling by using socioeconomic variables—such as family income, parental education and underserved-area status—as proxies for race through a “Davis Scale.”
From 2023 to 2025, DOJ said black and Hispanic applicants were admitted at rates up to six times higher than whites and Asians, while 93% of white and certain Asian admittees had MCAT scores at or above the average black admittee.
The department said Davis Med became the nation’s third most racially diverse medical school in 2024 and warned it will seek settlements first, then sue if schools do not bring admissions into compliance.
UC Davis has rejected the findings, saying its process is individualized, merit-based and lawful; DOJ last month issued similar determinations against UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and Yale’s medical school.