School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

UC Merced Scientists Among Global Elite Shaping AI, Climate and Health

January 26, 2026

UC Merced continues to demonstrate its growing influence on the global stage. Several faculty members landed on Clarivate’s 2025 list of the world’s most‑cited researchers. The honor is reserved for the top 1% of scholars whose work has shaped their fields over the last 10 years....

UC Merced Filmmaker Turns Inward for Meditation on Conflict and Loss

Filmmaker and UC Merced Professor Yehuda Sharim recently completed an autobiographical project that is an intimate contemplation of his childhood home in Israel, where visits with his aging father...

UC Merced Spendlove Prize Tsitsi Dangarembga

Spendlove Prize Winner Brings Spirit of Ubuntu to UC Merced

Tsitsi Dangarembga spread the spirit of ubuntu over UC Merced on Wednesday night, imparting its message of “how we can be good people who live well together.” Dangarembga, a Zimbabwean...

photo of student with brown hair and yellow shirt on blue and gold backgroud

Fellowship Draws UC Merced Alum Back to the Capitol

As one of UC Merced’s first students, Josue “Josh” Franco seized the chance to help shape student government for future scholars on campus; now he has grasped a new opportunity on...

3 New Majors Meet at Crossroads of Communication and Science

Information – how it is shaped, delivered and received – is a thread that runs through three dynamic new majors at UC Merced. Communication and media; neuroscience; and science,...

UC Merced political science Professor Christopher Ojeda displays a slide showing people say they feel depressed in polls taken after elections.

Stressed Out by the Election? Political Scientists Explain Why and Offer Tips

If it seems anxiety around elections is at an all-time high, then political groups have done their jobs. "It's very conscious, it's very calculated," said UC Merced political...

Public Health Grad Student Selected for Prestigious Award

Second-year public health Ph.D. student Sarina Rodriguez was named as a Health Policy Research Scholar by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The HPRS program supports doctoral students from...

Spendlove Prize winner Tsitsi Dangarembga

Zimbabwean Filmmaker, Activist Chosen for Spendlove Prize

Tsitsi Dangarembga, a renowned Zimbabwean filmmaker, novelist and cultural activist, was selected as the 16th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and...

Illustration for UC Merced home price database research

Interactive Database Tracks 116 Years of U.S. Housing Prices, Offers Insights for Future

A groundbreaking database that tracks 13 decades of annual changes in U.S. home sales and rental prices provides a clearer picture of economic shifts through the 20th century and will be a...

Ph.D. Student Named as 2024 Dole Caregiver Fellow

Karla Seijas is one of 14 individuals selected from across the nation as an Elizabeth Dole Foundation Caregiver Fellow. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation supports a community of more than 5.5 million...