School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

Innovative Research Secures Coveted Fellowships for Ph.D. Students

January 14, 2026

graphic with five individuals higlighted; three females and two males with UC Merced and ARCS logos on blue background

The ARCS Foundation Northern California awarded five UC Merced graduate students with 2025-26 fellowships. ARCS advances science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to exceptional graduate-level scholars in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. In...

UC Merced Professor Arias Wins Guggenheim Fellowship

Arturo Arias, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation professor in the Humanities at UC Merced, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his ground-breaking study of contemporary...

Top 10 Finalists Advance in UC Merced’s Grad Slam

Although COVID-19 has changed everyone’s plans this spring, Graduate Division staff members rallied to make sure the campus’s annual Grad Slam competition — showcasing graduate...

Whiting Fellowship Will Help Build Refugee View into High School Curricula

The Whiting Public Engagement Program has awarded a $50,000 fellowship to Professor Ma Vang for her efforts to integrate the experiences of refugees into education for high school students in...

Psychological Sciences Ph.D. student Maria Ramirez Loyola is working to understand why some people are better equipped than others to handle stressful experiences.

Grad Student Seeks Key Characteristics to Resiliency

From a young age, Maria Ramirez Loyola has been fascinated by the trait of resiliency. Her mother escaped an abusive marriage and fled from Mexico to the U.S. with two small children in tow....

Professor Eric Walle with Penelope and her mom, Jessica Mohatt, in a scene from the new Netflix docu-series "Babies."

New "Babies" Series on Netflix Features UC Merced Professor's Research on Development

Psychology Professor Eric Walle found something interesting when he studied babies who were walking compared to those who were crawling: Babies who walk are not only more mobile, they have...

Grammy-Winning Drummer Antonio Sanchez to Perform Free Concert in Merced

Antonio Sanchez broke new ground for musical storytelling with his award-winning soundtrack for “Birdman.” He’s earned multiple Grammys for his work with guitar master Pat Metheny....

Public Health Grad Student’s CDC-funded Research Helps Mosquito Control

Public health Ph.D. student Ryan Torres presented research at last month’s Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California Conference in San Diego that could be foundational for future...

UC Merced Alum Takes Helm at Lassen Community College

Trevor Albertson, who earned his Ph.D. in world cultures and history from UC Merced in 2009, has been appointed interim president/superintendent of Lassen Community College (LCC) by its board of...

Fellows prepare to undergo mock interviews where they will present their research in a way the general public can understand.

New Fellowship Program Gives Faculty an Edge in Competitive Funding Landscape

Many faculty members are experts in their fields, pioneering new ways to think about complex subject matter. But how does one communicate that research in a simple way, specifically when seeking...