Scholarships

First-generation Students Shine at UC Merced. This Week Celebrates Them

November 3, 2025

UC Merced Professor Rose Scott, student Narciso Martinez Solorio

More than six in 10 UC Merced undergraduates are the first in their families to attend a university. The national average for four-year universities is about two in 10. Opening doors to opportunity for first-generation students is infused into UC Merced’s DNA. Young people who had little...

SCI Active Network CEO and Founder Troy Plunkett and recent UC Merced alumnus Joseph Bello ('21).

Strauss Foundation Winner, Recent Grad Works to Improve Wheelchair Accessibility

In July, Joseph Bello will present his findings for the prestigious Donald A. Strauss Foundation scholarship to United Spinal, the longstanding nonprofit dedicated to overcoming the stigma of...

Rotary District Scholar to Conduct Sanitation Research in Haiti

With COVID-19 protections lifting, many people are eager to travel again. Among them is graduate student Elena Bischak, who is planning multiple trips to Haiti in the coming months to study improving...

Prusela Phillips and Tushar Narayan Endow 15th Alumni Scholarship

As part of their commitment to advancing educational opportunities for students and giving back to their alma maters, Kyoki Prusela Phillips, ’14, and Tushar Narayan have established the...

Among the six scholarship recipients was second-year bioengineering major Gehad Elhanafy who received the highest scholarship, $3,500.

University Friends Circle Recognizes Six Students and Two Service Organizations with Awards

Since 2008, University Friends Circle (UFC) has shown its support to UC Merced students through programs that promote community interaction. One way UFC has been a critical advocate of the campus...

Male Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate student Ivan G. Soto

UC Merced Alums, Students Earn Prestigious Fellowships

A half-dozen UC Merced students and alumni are recipients of significant fellowships to help support their graduate education. “We’re extremely proud of our undergraduate and graduate...

Five Years in, CCBM Looking to Expand Research and Student Opportunities

From graduate student Jose Zamora’s perspective, the CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) has been a spectacular success. “There is so much value to being part...

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...

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...

Give to UC Merced 2020 draws 487 donors and raises $163,000 to support students and campus initiatives.

Month of Giving Surpasses Fundraising Goal

During December, the Give to UC Merced 2020 initiative tripled the campus’s goal of raising $50,000. The final tally: $163,000 raised for a variety of campus initiatives and programs. The...