Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSU Med) allegedly discriminated against white and Asian students in granting admission to its 2023, 2024, and 2025 incoming classes, according to an investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 

“A university’s admissions process, and all its stages, should apply equally to all applicants regardless of race. The use of a separate admissions process based on race is plainly illegal under federal law," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. 

Admissions at OSU Med placed priority on apply students who were deemed to be "underrepresented minorities." The investigation found that black applicants who are screened and interviewed are about 2.8 times as likely to be admitted than Asian applicants with equal credentials.

The investigation also found that OSU Med uses a "side door" process to its admissions process, which allowed some applicants to be admitted without receiving a screen score or sitting for an interview. Under that process, in 2024 and 2025 combined, black applicants were four times as likely to be admitted than white applicants, and no Asian applicants were admitted, according to the Justice Department. 

The investigation alleges these practices violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race or color, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which banned race discrimination in admissions.