U.S. Department of Education Investigates Five Medical Schools as Trump Administration Pushes to End Racial Discrimination in Admissions
Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s (the Department’s) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) launched new investigations into five medical schools across the country for alleged racial discrimination in admissions. OCR will determine whether these schools violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
These investigations are part of a joint effort with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to advance President Trump’s mission to eliminate racial discrimination in medical school admissions processes across the country.
“Your race should not decide whether or not you can study medicine, yet many schools seem to be more focused on meeting racial quotas than selecting individuals who have earned entrance based on merit,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. “Schools that engage in such admissions policies are not only violating the law, but they are also undermining the fundamental principles of fairness and meritocracy that define our nation. The Trump Administration is holding schools to account for their reported discriminatory behavior and will ensure a future where students are once again rewarded for their hard work and achievement, not prejudged by the color of their skin.”
The day after his second inauguration, President Trump signed an Executive Order to restore merit-based opportunity and end illegal, discriminatory so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) preferences in higher education. In August 2025, President Trump signed another Executive Order to ensure transparency in admissions for institutions of higher education and end discriminatory race-based admissions processes.
As a result, hundreds of colleges and universities have shuttered DEI programs on their campuses and eliminated unfair requirements for admission, employment, scholarship awards, and more:
- Over 300 colleges and universities have eliminated DEI requirements, closed DEI offices, removed diversity statements from hiring practices, and altered or removed DEI policies.
- Prominent examples include Harvard University, the Ohio State University, Northwestern University, Purdue University, Rutgers University, Stanford University, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Vanderbilt University, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California System (including UCLA) and the University of North Carolina System.
- Over 45 colleges and universities have removed DEI statements and messaging from university programs or websites.
- At least 15 colleges and universities have eliminated the use of diversity statements in hiring faculty or staff.
- At least 95 colleges and universities have eliminated DEI faculty and staff, renamed faculty and staff positions, or shifted faculty and staff to new roles.
- At least 175 colleges and universities have removed or restructured DEI offices or centers at their institutions.
- The College Board revised the criteria for its National Recognition Program, which favored racial groups and awarded scholarships disproportionately based on ethnicity. The program now uses merit-based scholarships to recognize the efforts of high-achieving students, regardless of racial or ethnic background.
- Several colleges and universities cancelled affinity graduation ceremonies in 2025.
- This includes Harvard University, Maricopa Community Colleges, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, the University of Notre Dame, Wichita State University, and, in early 2026, Virginia Tech.
- 31 institutions of higher education agreed to cease their partnerships with the Ph.D. Project, which violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by illegally limiting eligibility according to participants’ race.
Read about more victories for higher education here.
In June 2026, DOJ announced 15 new investigations into potential race discrimination in medical school admissions.
Title VI and its implementing regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
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