Justice Department opened Title VI investigation into William & Mary's race-based scholarships

On August 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced it had opened a Title VI compliance investigation into the College of William & Mary, a public university in Williamsburg, Virginia, examining whether several of its scholarships and student-benefit programs award opportunities based on race.

DOJ's letter to the university named five programs under review: the W&M Scholars program, which gives priority to first-year applicants with an "interest in diverse people and perspectives"; the Martha L. Muguira Fellowship, a need-based graduate award in the School of Education that prefers Hispanic and Latina women; the Holmes Scholars doctoral program, which offers "future education leaders of color" mentorship and professional-development access; and two School of Law programs -- the Lemon Legal Scholars Program and the Reaching Back Scholarship -- that benefit graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The investigation follows DOJ's post-2023 interpretation of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as barring not only race-conscious admissions but also race-conscious scholarships and program spots.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a DOJ statement, "Awarding scholarships or offering coveted opportunities to students based on the color of their skin is illegal and offends the guarantees of our color-blind Constitution... We will find out if scholarships or other student benefits at William & Mary favor applicants of certain races. The Department will not turn a blind eye to race-based preferences, however they are packaged or portrayed by universities." William & Mary said in a statement it is "reviewing the information" received from DOJ and remains "committed to nondiscriminatory learning environments," while declining to comment further on a pending legal matter. DOJ's letter said that if it finds no violation it will close the inquiry, and that if it finds one it will first seek "informal voluntary means" of compliance before considering formal action, including suspension of federal funding.

William & Mary is the latest in a series of universities -- including Harvard and Smith College -- that DOJ and the Department of Education have investigated under an expansive post-SFFA reading of federal civil-rights law aimed at race-conscious student aid and admissions programs.