Campus

UC Merced Named Top 25 Public University by U.S. News & World Report

September 22, 2025

UC Merced’s upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing as the university has cracked the Top 25 of U.S. News & World Report’s best public schools in the nation. The annual survey, which evaluates nearly 1,700 national public and private colleges and universities, also placed UC...

UC President’s Whirlwind Visit Covers Many Bases

University of California President Janet Napolitano learned about UC Merced’s outreach to local high school students and efforts to support the UC system’s Global Food and Carbon Neutrality...

New AVC and Police Chief Combines All Things Safety

Albert Vasquez is putting to use his more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and administration as UC Merced’s first assistant vice chancellor for campus and public safety and second...

UC Merced Researchers Gathering Data to Tackle California’s Water Crisis on Multiple Fronts

Note: This story originally ran in the Fall 2015 issue of UC Merced Magazine. By Joel Patenaude California, long envied by the rest of the country for its climate, beauty and natural resources, is...

Campus Ranked Among Most Diverse in the U.S.

UC Merced has been identified by Best Colleges as one of the country’s top 50 campuses where students have the most opportunity to interact with different ethnicities, ranking No. 12. UC Merced is...

Despite Constraints, UC Merced Enrollment Continues to Grow

Enrollment at the University of California, Merced, this fall has climbed to another all-time high of 6,685 students — an increase of 6.7 percent over Fall 2014, according to headcount figures...

Program Makes Transition Easier for Transfer Students

Four weeks after her move to UC Merced in January 2014, psychology major Valara Villanueva wasn’t sure if she fit in. She felt academically prepared, but the transition from community college to a...

New Engineering Dean Brings Experience to School, Campus

New School of Engineering Dean Mark Matsumoto is not new to UC Merced. In fact, he’s not even new as the engineering dean, having served in the interim between founding Dean Jeff Wright and Dean...

Mobile App Challenge Gets a Boost from AT&T

Earlier this month, AT&T presented its Investing in California award to UC Merced’s Mobile App Challenge. The communications company gave $5,000 to support the competition, which is held each...

‘Light Up the Lantern’ to Raise Funds for At-Risk Youth

The UC Merced Police Department will host its annual Light Up the Lantern event on Sept. 19 to support the campus’s Police Mentor Program. In 2006, UC Merced police officers formed a partnership with...