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.”

The universities under investigation are accused of partnering with “The Ph.D. 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:

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: