Graduate Students

Two Social Science Graduate Students Earn Fellowships

July 3, 2025

image with two people with brown/black hair and the Beginnings sculture

UC Merced Ph.D. candidates Eliana Fonsah and Nihan Karagul are recipients of the highly competitive dissertation fellowship from the UC Institute of Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). They competed with doctoral candidates from across the UC system, resulting in about 10% of applicants...

Students and faculty member testing brain-scanning device

Publishing Research a Rite of Passage for Grad Students

Like anyone starting a Ph.D. program, Anna Ankirskaia had her doubts. But, like anyone who ultimately completes their Ph.D., Ankirskaia had to conduct her own research and get it published. With...

Professor Michael Dawson (seated) with graduate student Karly Higgins (left) and postdoctoral researchers Dannise Ruiz-Ramos (center) and Lauren Schiebelhut.

NSF Grants Will Help Unravel Mysteries of Sea Stars, Jellyfish

The National Science Foundation recently awarded Professor Michael Dawson $900,000 to study some rather mysterious marine phenomena. Dawson received $700,000 — part of a three-year, $1.2...

Workshop to Focus on Diversity, African Studies

Everyone is invited to a special event featuring UCLA Professor Jemima Pierre, speaking on “Africa and the Project of Black Studies” as part of a workshop entitled “The Critical...

Record-Breaking Class Pushes UC Merced Enrollment Near 8,000

The University of California, Merced, received the largest incoming class of students in its 13-year history this semester, as total enrollment neared 8,000 for the first time. The fastest-growing...

Five students gathered around a table in front of a large glass building. The two students in the foreground are facing each other, with one holding an iPad and the other interacting with the iPad's screen.

Growing Public Health Program Launches Standalone Ph.D.

UC Merced recently launched a new standalone Ph.D. program in Public Health, further establishing the university’s commitment to educating the next generation of scholars who are addressing the...

A man holds a bright purple instrument in his hands while talking into a microphone headset.

‘Genius’ Award Winner and TED Lecturer to Speak at UC Merced

On Sept. 22, MacArthur "Genius" Award winner and Stanford University bioengineering Professor Manu Prakash will deliver the keynote lecture at the first annual open house for UC Merced...

Synthetic Nanotubes Beat Nature at Water Purification

A new study published in the journal Science may have major implications for the future of water purification. Professor Aleksandr Noy and his research team at Lawrence Livermore National Lab found...

New Academic Year Brings New Faces, Opportunities

More than 2,200 students — many entering their first year at UC Merced — arrived last weekend in cars, trucks and minivans packed to the gills with living essentials from clothing and...

Professor Nathan Monroe works with a student to analyze politics.

Political Scientists, Students to Examine United Nations’ Inner Workings

Considering that the United States spends about $3.3 billion on United Nations-related activity each year, including peacekeeping — and President Donald Trump has proposed a 40 percent cut in...