School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

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...

Mostern in D.C. to Advocate for Humanities Research

Professor Ruth Mostern, chair of the Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate group, is in Washington, D.C., today and tomorrow (March 16 to 17) to advocate for the humanities. Mostern is attending the...

Literature Professor Releases Book on Acclaimed Chilean Author

Ignacio López-Calvo, professor of Latin American literature in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, has edited a book that was published by Palgrave MacMillan this month. “Roberto...

Self-Portraits Show Perception of Illness Remains Despite Cure

If a picture is worth a thousand words, Professor Jitske Tiemensma’s research speaks volumes. The UC Merced health psychologist uses self-portraits to assess how patients feel about their illnesses....

Symposium to Focus on Child Development Myths

The UC Merced Symposium on the Child and Family will be held on campus from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 14. The event’s theme is “Myths About Child Development and Learning.” It will feature research-...

Sociologist Awarded for Book on Inequality in Higher Education

The American Sociological Association (ASA) has honored Professor Laura Hamilton and her co-author with its Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award for their 2013 book, “Paying for the Party: How...

Campus Forges Partnership with Kathmandu University

The University of California, Merced, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kathmandu University during a ceremony in Nepal on Thursday, Feb. 26, laying the foundation for future...

Gift Establishes UC Merced Presidential Chair in the Humanities

The University of California, Merced, will soon benefit from increased leadership in the humanities, thanks to an anonymous $500,000 donation and a $500,000 match from the UC Office of the President...

Humanities Center to Host Visiting Lecturers

The next week will be a busy one for the Center for the Humanities at UC Merced. David Palumbo-Liu, the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University, will be on...

Political Scientist Studies Who Tortures Whom, and Why

What makes a government decide to use torture in its interrogations? How do those decisions differ when terrorism is suspected? Once torture starts, how can it be stopped? These questions are at...