First. Further. Forward

Damaging Lightning-Caused Wildfires Likely to Increase in a Few Years, Researchers Find

September 3, 2025

Photo depicts a silhouette of California firefighters battling a lightning-caused fire in 2020.

Lightning from thunderstorms rolling through Central California on Sept. 2 ignited numerous wildfires, including several large fires in the Sierra Nevada foothills that had burned more than 19 square miles by Wednesday morning. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services recorded...

A student studies an equation on a whiteboard.

UC Merced Receives $1 Million Grant to Support Underrepresented STEM Students

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has established a new scholarship endowment to ensure that many of UC Merced's underrepresented students, particularly those from diverse socio-economic backgrounds...

Campus Adds New Areas of Studies for Students to Choose From

New students or those who have not yet chosen their majors will have an array of options before them. Five new majors and several new emphases, ranging across all three schools, are all coming...

Donor Denise Watkins with her mother, Genelia Phillips.

UC Merced Trustee Denise Watkins Establishes New Scholarship to Encourage Students to Study Abroad

UC Merced undergraduates who dream of expanding their educational horizons by immersing themselves in foreign cultures and far-away countries now have access to vital financial aid for that goal,...

Professor Ahmed Sabir Arif is pictured with PhD students Tafadzwa Joseph Dube, Laxmi Pandey (graduated Spring 2022), Gulnar Rakhmetulla (graduated Spring 2022), and Yuan Ren.

CAREER Award Funds Research Into Lip Reading for Mobile Devices

Professor Ahmed Sabbir Arif has received a CAREER award for his research into non-acoustic, image-based speech input on mobile devices. He is the 35th researcher from UC Merced to earn a...

student wearing regalia, getting their diplomas

Inspired by Their Roots, UC Merced Graduates Look to the Future

A sea of blue and gold regalia filled Recreation Field as hundreds of UC Merced Bobcats crossed the stage during commencement weekend. Almost 1,500 students took part in three distinct ceremonies...

Students, Alums Receive Competitive NSF Fellowships

UC Merced students Brianna Aguilar-Solis, Diane-Marie Brache-Smith, Sierra Lema and Sarif Morningstar, and alumni Diana Cruz Garcia and Anna Maria Calderon were awarded fellowships from the National...

Student Jose Sanez undergoes a virtual eye exam developed by a team at UC Merced's Innovate to Grow event, .

Student Projects Provide Real Solutions at Innovate to Grow Event

Dozens of innovative ideas were on display at UC Merced's Innovate to Grow event May 11. The biannual event provides an opportunity for engineering students to showcase their capstone projects,...

UC Merced Among Top Schools in US For Leadership in College Access, Success

Bloomberg Philanthropies has recognized the University of California, Merced, as an American Talent Initiative (ATI) High-Flier, among a group of 28 high-graduation-rate institutions that are...

Student Speakers will Impart Words of Wisdom at Commencement

Two undergraduate student speakers will share their journeys and insights with UC Merced’s graduating class and their families and friends at two commencement ceremonies to be held this weekend...