The US Justice Department has accused the Yale School of Medicine of unfairly favouring Black and Hispanic students during its admissions process, saying the school discriminated against White and Asian applicants.
The allegations were announced on May 14 and come as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on diversity-focused admissions and DEI policies across universities and workplaces in the United States.
Yale becomes second medical school to face accusations
Yale is now the second major medical school to face such accusations from the Justice Department in recent days. Earlier this month, on May 6, the department accused the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA of using similar admissions practices.
According to the Justice Department, its review of Yale’s admissions records found that Black and Hispanic students had a better chance of getting admitted than White and Asian students who had similar test scores.
DOJ says Yale ignored Supreme Court ruling
Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said Yale continued using a “race-based admissions program” even after the 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that banned race-conscious admissions at universities.
“This department will continue to shed light on these illegal practices, and demand that institutions of higher education comply with federal law,” Dhillon said in a statement.
In a six-page letter, Dhillon argued that Yale’s admissions process still allowed officials to identify race indirectly. According to her, the university used a “holistic review” system that examined applicants in detail and also conducted interviews that let admissions committees know the applicants’ race and ethnicity.
The Justice Department claimed the school discriminated against some students “to benefit preferred race classes of Black and Hispanic.”
Dhillon also said the admissions data shared by Yale showed “virtually no difference in racial preferences” before and after the Supreme Court ruling. She claimed the lack of change suggested “a willful failure to comply with that decision.”
Yale responds to the allegations
Yale pushed back against the accusations in a statement released Thursday.
The university said the students it admits “demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and personal commitment” and added that it remained “confident in the rigorous admissions process.”
Bigger fight over DEI and admissions
The case is part of a bigger political and legal fight happening across the country over diversity, equity and inclusion policies, often called DEI. The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions changed how universities handle admissions and also raised concerns among employers about whether workplace diversity programs could face legal challenges too.
Since returning to the office, Trump has repeatedly argued that DEI policies are unfair to White Americans. During his campaign, he promised to roll back what he called “woke” diversity programs in the federal government, schools and private companies.