UC Merced is welcoming the largest class in university history this fall, as record numbers of first-year and transfer students propel total enrollment to an all-time high of 9,647 students.
The university’s enrollment grew by 704 students, a nearly 8% increase from last fall. This surpasses the previous record of 9,148, set in Fall 2023.
Even more striking is the growth among new students. UC Merced welcomed 3,157 new students this fall — an increase of 748 students, or 31%, from last year’s 2,409. The previous record for new students was 2,678, set in Fall 2021.
Both first-year and transfer enrollment reached historic highs.
The university enrolled 2,705 first-year students, a 36% increase from the 1,982 who enrolled last fall and well above the previous record of 2,416 set in Fall 2023. Transfer enrollment increased even more dramatically, reaching 452 students, a 66% increase from last year’s 272 which was the previous record.
The university is also becoming more diverse, with increases in international enrollment as well as African American, Hispanic and Native American students.
The growth is especially significant in the region UC Merced was created to serve. Forty-four percent of this year’s new students come from Central California, and while the university’s overall undergraduate enrollment from the Valley grew by 23%, this includes a 20% increase from students that make up the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
“This is an extraordinary moment for UC Merced,” Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said. “These numbers demonstrate that students and families recognize that UC Merced offers an exceptional student-centered, research-based education and a level of access, excellence and opportunity that is unique among the country’s leading research universities. Most importantly, this growth is happening among the students and families from across the Valley who have always been at the heart of our mission of teaching, research, and service.”
The record enrollment comes as UC Merced continues to gain national recognition for its academic excellence and economic impact.
New majors are being added in areas of strong student and workforce demand, as well as a slate of new facilities, including a four-floor Medical Education Building, a 36,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art classroom building, a student union, and a 488-bed Promise Housing complex that is nearing completion.
UC Merced’s growing network of admission pathways is also helping more students envision a UC education from an earlier age. The Merced Automatic Admission Program, or MAAP, and the Merced Promise connect UC Merced with K-12 school districts and community colleges throughout the region, creating clearer pathways for students who meet established academic requirements.
The university’s growing national reputation is another contributor to its tremendous momentum. UC Merced ranks among the top 25 public universities in the nation and No. 3 nationally for social mobility, according to U.S. News & World Report.
At the same time, affordability remains central to UC Merced’s appeal. Through a combination of federal, state, and university financial aid, UC Merced offers some of the most generous financial aid packages among research universities. UC Merced also has the lowest average student debt at graduation in the UC system, and when combined with robust grant and scholarship support, a significant number of students graduate with minimal debt or, in many cases, debt-free.
The result is an incoming undergraduate population that reflects UC Merced’s distinctive mission. Ninety-eight percent of undergraduates are from California, and 66% are first-generation college students.
“These numbers tell us that California and the country are embracing our institution, and helping to shape what the University of California Merced is becoming,” Muñoz said. “We are proud of how far we have come, and we are even more excited about where we are going.”
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