UC Merced is abuzz with celebration as students, families, friends, staff and faculty finish last-minute preparations for the largest commencement in university history.
Across three outdoor ceremonies, 1,649 students will walk the stage at Spring Commencement 2026, marking a record-setting...
School of Natural Sciences

Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers.
The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards,...

UC Merced will celebrate the Class of 2026 with three inspiring alumni returning to campus as keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies May 15-17.
Emily Reed, ’07, ’13, a tenured...

Students who arrive at UC Merced planning on specific careers often discover along the way that their interests — and strengths — are broader than they first imagined.
A new initiative...

Avinav Biswas, a third‑year undergraduate majoring in biological sciences at UC Merced, has been named a 2026 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, becoming the university’s first recipient of one of the...

A throng of people came to UC Merced on a crisp, blue-sky Saturday for Bobcat Day. More than 7,000 were registered to attend the April 18 event for admitted and prospective first-year and...

Nervous but prepared, Tahirah Williams took the stage at UC Merced’s Grad Slam competition in March and delivered her three-minute talk, “More Than Slime: When Mucus Meets the Valley...

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...

Professors Asmeret Asefaw Berhe and Ming-Hsuan Yang have been named 2025 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and...

UC Merced’s CalTeach program is opening new pathways for younger students to experience hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning, academic support and early exposure...



