Academics

From Wild Mushrooms to Punchlines, Bobcats Learn in Out-of-the-Box Ways

May 26, 2026

A student hones communication skills by learning how to use comedy to deliver messages.
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Walk across UC Merced’s campus on any weekday, and you might hear laughter spilling from a classroom, feel the thrum of a wind tunnel or spot students crouched in a field searching for...

Undergraduate Experience: Habibatu Mboka

Name: Habibatu Mboka Year: Graduating May 2021, School of Engineering Commencement Student Speaker Major: Computer Science and Engineering Hometown: Turlock What clubs or...
Public health Professor Asa Bradman conducted research to examine a link between childhood development and food dyes. Photo by Veronica Adrover, UC Merced

Public Health Professor Shows Food Dye Linked to Childhood Behavior in California EPA Study

Public health Professor Asa Bradman contributed to a new report that examines the relationship between synthetic food dye — found in everything from juice to cupcakes — and child...
The FACTS Bridge Program is a new internship designed to immerse students in agricultural science and research.

First-Year and Transfer Students Can Dig into Research this Summer with Paid USDA Internships

Many students don’t think about internships until later in college, but at UC Merced undergraduate students can take advantage of hands-on training with faculty before even starting regular...
Two make graduate students sitting in residence hall

Graduate Student Association Provides Collective Voice for Grad Students

Graduate school is tough, but graduate students have a place to turn to for advocacy and support on campus. Since it was established in 2005, UC Merced’s Graduate Student Association (GSA)...
The U.S. News & World Report Rankings included the debut of two UC Merced graduate programs, Political Science was ranked No. 63 and history discipline of the Interdisciplinary Humanities program was ranked No.127.

U.S. News & World Report Rankings Showcase Growing Engineering Program, Debuts Interdisciplinary Humanities and Political Science

For the first time, UC Merced’s Political Science and Interdisciplinary Humanities (history discipline) graduate groups made national rankings. US News & World Report’s annual...
Covering California's canals in solar panels could save 63 billion gallons of water annually, which is comparable to the amount needed to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland.

Solar Panels Over Canals Can Save Money, Energy and Water, Study Shows

Covering the 4,000 miles of California’s water canals could save billions of gallons of water and generate renewable power for the state every year, according to a new study. The study...
Selina Brinkmann, who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, is UC Merced’s first student to earn a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship.

Mechanical Engineering Student Named the Campus’s First Rhodes Scholar

UC Merced master’s student Selina Brinkmann has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for study at Oxford University — a first for the campus. “A Rhodes Scholarship being awarded to...
The University of California, Merced campus. Photo credit: David Burk

Q&A: Latinx Community Impacted by Food Insecurity During COVID-19

COVID-19 has left the food insecure population especially vulnerable. The pandemic has upset food supply chains and in turn, access to healthy and nutritious food has become even more difficult. A...
Professor Maria Elena De Trinidad Young

Q&A: How Public Health Research Can Shape Inclusive Immigration Policies

President Joe Biden and the Democrat-controlled Congress have started boldly with immigration. On Feb. 18, Democrats introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which would rollback many of...

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