Environmental Research

UC Merced Sees Strong Gains in U.S. News Grad School Rankings

April 7, 2026

Top 100 Best Graduate Schools ranking, two students in a lab

UC Merced saw broad gains in the U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Graduate Schools rankings with graduate programs rising in national standing, reflecting the campus’s growing academic and research profile. UC Merced’s School of Engineering broke into the top 100 in the rankings...

New Center Seeks Better Ways to Communicate Climate Issues

Climate change is creating two problems. One is understanding and addressing its impact on the world. The other is convincing large swaths of the public that it is, in fact, a reality. In an effort...

Innovate to Grow Competition Highlights Student Creativity

MERCED, Calif. — From disposable drones mapping wildfire perimeters to increasing the number of young students interested in science, technology, engineering and math studies, this year’s...

NSF Early Career Award Honors Professor’s Research and Potential

The National Science Foundation is honoring UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe with a Faculty Early Career Development Award to support her examination of how soil helps regulate the climate....

Professor’s Passion for Monkey Flower Leads to Genetic Discoveries

The environment affects the way genetic populations move, and similar environments likely play a bigger role in how a species develops than does geographic distance. Those are just two of the...

Professors’ Expertise Tapped for Policy Discussions at Drought Summit

Two researchers from the University of California, Merced, are slated to take part in the UC Drought Science, Policy and Management Summit at the state Capitol this week. School of Engineering ...

Researchers Melt Snow to See Climate Change Impacts

In a megadrought like the one California is experiencing, people tend to look at how much rainfall has come along. But it also matters when the snowmelt releases its cache, because the snowpack is...

Professor’s Paper in Nature Communications Indicates Deep Sea Changes

Large, naturally occurring low-oxygen zones in the Pacific appear to be expanding, and there is a sharp change in the number of bacteria that produce and consume different forms of toxic sulfur,...

Valley Fever Lecture Series to Bring Attention to ‘Silent Epidemic’

Valley fever, described as a “silent epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control, will be explored through a series of wide-ranging talks at the University of California, Merced. Twelve lectures...

Campus Surpasses UC President’s Water Conservation Request

Conserving resources is just a part of the fabric of UC Merced. So it should come as no surprise that university leaders say the campus can not only meet President Janet Napolitano’s call to cut...