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President Donald Trump’s administration announced last week that it will investigate 45 U.S. universities, including Yale and Ohio State, over their partnership with The PhD Project.It’s part of the administration's broader crackdown on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, both in the public and private sectors.“The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into 45 universities under Title VI following OCR’s February 14 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) that reiterated schools�� civil rights obligations to end the use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities,�� a press release announcing the investigation said.The administration alleges that the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by partnering with The PhD Project.Here’s everything you need to know about The PhD Project and the investigation:What is The PhD Project?The PhD Project is a nonprofit organization that partners with universities and companies to help underrepresented individuals pursue networking opportunities, earn their Ph.D.s and secure professor positions.Currently, its website does not mention diversity, equity or inclusion. However, it seems the organization recently updated its website to remove any mention of those topics.Using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, The PhD Project’s website stated its goal as recently as Jan. 14, 2025, was to “diversify(ing) corporate America by diversifying the role models in the front of classrooms.”Additionally, the nonprofit said its vision was to see “a significantly larger talent pipeline of Black/African Americans, Latinx/Hispanic Americans and Native Americans/Canadian Indigenous for business leadership positions.”The organization also manages a job board on its website and hosts an annual conference, which will take place this year in Chicago from March 20 to 21.What is being investigated?The Department of Education’s press release references a “Dear Colleague Letter�� that was sent on Feb. 14 to universities that receive federal funding.The letter told the universities to “cease using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in their admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, sanctions, discipline, and other programs and activities.”Seemingly, the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is alleging that the universities that partnered with The PhD Project were violating that mandate.The DOE characterized The PhD Project as an organization that “purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants.”The press release did not provide specific details about The PhD Project’s conduct or examples of how the universities practiced discriminatory behavior.On top of the investigation into The PhD Project, the DOE also announced in the same press release that it was investigating six other universities for alleged “impermissible race-based scholarships and race-based segregation.�� Which schools are being investigated?The 45 universities being investigated for their partnership with The PhD Project include Ivy Leagues, state colleges and small private institutions, ranging from coast to coast and in every major region of the country.Some of the more notable names are Yale University, Ohio State University, Duke University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Kentucky, New York University (NYU) and Georgetown University.The six schools being separately investigated for "impermissible race-based scholarships," include Grand Valley State University, Ithaca College and University of South Florida.A full list of all the schools being investigated is here. The Trump administration’s anti-DEI crackdownThis investigation is part of a broader trend under the Trump administration, which has aimed to dismantle DEI practices in the public and private sectors.On Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order ending DEI programs in the federal government, which resulted in the shuttering of offices and firing of workers.Companies like Target, Walmart, Amazon, McDonald’s, Google and Lowe’s have either scaled back or completely rescinded their DEI programs in response to the administration's actions.Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders are being challenged in court, though last week, an appeals court lifted a block on those orders, allowing the administration to continue its crackdown.