(This article has been updated with a statement from Montana State University in response to the investigation.)
BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Friday that it has opened investigations into 45 universities, including Montana State University, for allegedly limiting graduate program eligibility based on race, which OCR says violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
According to a Department of Education press release, OCR issued a Dear Colleague letter on Feb. 14, 2025 that “reiterated schools’ civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.”
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Montana State University among 45 universities accused of violating the Civil Rights Act
The universities under investigation are accused of partnering with The PhD Project, which OCR says “purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated in the release:
The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination. The agency has already launched Title VI investigations into institutions where widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported and Title IX investigations into entities which allegedly continue to allow sex discrimination; today’s announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes. Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment.
Following is a list of the schools under investigation “for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs,” according to the press release:
- Arizona State University – Main Campus
- Boise State University
- Cal Poly Humboldt
- California State University – San Bernadino
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Clemson University
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Emory University
- George Mason University
- Georgetown University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Montana State University – Bozeman
- New York University (NYU)
- Rice University
- Rutgers University
- The Ohio State University – Main Campus
- Towson University
- Tulane University
- University of Arkansas – Fayetteville
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of Chicago
- University of Cincinnati – Main Campus
- University of Colorado – Colorado Springs
- University of Delaware
- University of Kansas
- University of Kentucky
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- University of New Mexico – Main Campus
- University of North Dakota – Main Campus
- University of North Texas – Denton
- University of Notre Dame
- University of NV – Las Vegas
- University of Oregon
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Utah
- University of Washington-Seattle
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- University of Wyoming
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington State University
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Yale University
The release said OCR is also investigating seven additional universities, six for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships,” and one for “allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.”
Those universities are:
- Grand Valley State University
- Ithaca College
- New England College of Optometry
- University of Alabama
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- University of South Florida
- University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Community Medicine
The Department of Education said in the release that the OCR investigations “are being conducted pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding.”
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The release said universities can lose federal funding due to violations of Title VI.
Montana State University said in an extended response to MTN’s request for comment that the university “strictly adheres to all federal and state laws in the hiring of its faculty and staff.” The full response from MSU Vice President for Communications Tracy Ellig is below.
Full statement from MSU Vice President for Communications Tracy Ellig:
Montana State University is surprised by the notice it received from the U.S. Department of Education.
MSU’s strictly adheres to all federal and state laws in the hiring of its faculty and staff. Indeed, the following statement is one of the first thing job applicants encounter when seeking a job at MSU:
“Montana State University is an equal opportunity employer. MSU does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class status in violation of any applicable law. In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans.”
(See: https://jobs.montana.edu/ [jobs.montana.edu])
Montana State University strictly adheres to all applicable laws with regard to its students. MSU has well-established processes and procedures in place to investigate any claim of discrimination by students, faculty, staff or the public.
MSU is unaware of any complaint made internally with regards to the PhD Project.
The PhD Project is a non-governmental organization with a focus on business doctoral degrees. In 2024, a staff member signed the university up at a cost of $3,000 for the purposes of having unlimited access to the organization’s national job posting list. It was used to expand the reach of our job postings, in addition to other similarly-situated outlets that are used to post job openings. (For context, a single, basic, national job posting in the Chronicle of Higher Education is advertised at $435. See: https://hire.chronicle.com/pricing/#:~:text=Basic%20Job%20Posting%20%24435,your%20ad’s%20visibility%20in%20searches
Our access to the PhD Project job listing site did not change any of our recruitment nor hiring practices in any way, which are described above.
The university will fully cooperate with the U.S. Department of Education and implement any findings it may make with regards to this issue.