US Justice Department Accuses Ohio State Medical School of Racial Bias Against Asian, White Applicants

Washington, October 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

The US Justice Department has accused Ohio State University’s College of Medicine of discriminating against Asian and white applicants, alleging that its admissions process favoured Black candidates and allowed some applicants to bypass screening or interviews.

The Civil Rights Division announced its investigative findings on Wednesday, covering admissions for the incoming classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. It said the alleged practices violated federal civil rights law and the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based university admissions.

According to the department, Black applicants who completed screening and interviews were approximately 2.8 times more likely to be admitted than Asian applicants with equivalent credentials.

Investigators also alleged that the medical school maintained a separate admissions pathway through which some candidates could secure admission without receiving a screening score or attending an interview.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division, said admissions procedures should apply equally to all candidates, regardless of race.

The department said the university used a system it described as a “Holistic Approach” to admit more applicants from underrepresented minority groups. Under the process, screeners evaluated candidates on attributes worth up to 12 points, experiences worth up to 16 points, and metrics worth up to eight points, followed by an interview stage.

The findings represent the department’s investigative conclusions and are not a court judgment. The department said it would pursue settlement negotiations to address the alleged violations and file lawsuits if those efforts failed.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, colour or national origin in programmes receiving federal financial assistance. The department said medical schools receiving substantial federal funding must comply with the law and added that it would continue examining admissions practices at medical schools nationwide.