Feds escalate investigation of Duke med school admissions, after UNC made a deal

Jane Winik Sartwell, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Nov 2, 2026

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has referred its findings about Duke University’s admissions processes in its medical school to the Justice Department — a move the health agency had said it would make if Duke didn’t comply.

The Duke Chronicle first reported this story. The health department’s Office for Civil Rights announced the referral in a social media post last week.

HHS accused Duke’s medical school on Sept. 8 of using racial proxies that still allow applicant reviewers to consider race, despite the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions.

The result of Duke’s admissions process, HHS said in its letter to Duke, is that admitted Black students had statistically lower Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, scores and GPAs than admitted white and Asian students. HHS also said Duke failed to produce explanations for the deviations when asked about them.

Higher education experts have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the finding, questioning such statistical conclusions based on standardized test performance, The News & Observer previously reported.

HHS’s letter to Duke says that “HHS regulations permit referral of matters to the United States Department of Justice if compliance under Title VI cannot be obtained voluntarily.”

Now, the finding has made that jump. HHS notified Duke of that on Thursday.

But Duke says it is cooperating with the federal government.

“We are disappointed that despite Duke’s cooperation in answering the Department’s inquiries and submitting information demonstrating its ongoing compliance, HHS has decided to refer the matter,” a spokesperson for the university told The N&O in an email.

“As we have said before, Duke is committed to complying with the law in a manner that is consistent with our academic mission.”

Other federal investigations into Duke

Just down the road, UNC-Chapel Hill recently signed a deal with the federal government to close the Trump administration’s investigations into the university.

Duke’s leadership isn’t there yet.

The Pentagon did recently close its audit of foreign funding sources at Duke, clearing the school of suspicion despite it not terminating a foreign relationship. UNC, which was subject to the same probe, ended its study-abroad program with Fudan University in Shanghai in response.

Separately, however, the Department of Education and Department of State have an open investigation into Duke’s relationship with Wuhan University, accusing Duke of submitting “incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely disclosures” of its foreign funding.

In addition, the Justice Department says it found evidence of racially biased admissions practices at Duke Law School — similar to the HHS findings at the medical school. If negotiations fail, the Justice Department says it will sue Duke.

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