School of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts

Depression Due to Politics: the Quiet Danger to Democracy

July 7, 2025

UC Merced Professor Christopher Ojeda and his book "The Sad Citizen"

On laptop screens, televisions and social media feeds across the nation, images and words fueled by a fractured political landscape spout anger, frustration and resentment. Clashing ideologies burst forth in public demonstrations, family gatherings and digital echo chambers. Red-hot rhetoric and...

UC Merced graduate student Karla Seijas siting on concrete wall.

Ph.D. Student Pushes for Better Education Benefits for Veterans’ Dependents

A new state law will make a difference in accessing education for the dependents of disabled veterans in California, thanks to the initiative of UC Merced Interdisciplinary Humanities graduate...

New Study Suggests Chance Plays a Bigger Role Than One Might Think in Faculty Promotion

For professors, it’s up or out when it comes to tenure and promotion: After five years on the job as assistant professors, junior professors’ promise is evaluated by their more senior...

Researcher Among the World's Most Highly Cited for the Fourth Straight Year

Distinguished Professor Martin Hagger from the Department of Psychological Sciences has been awarded one of this year’s Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher awards. He is one of four...

Study of Racial Effects of University Funding Cuts Wins $100,000 Education Prize

A $100,000 award will fund a UC Merced researcher's work into determining how the nation's public universities can do a better job educating students of color. Sociology Professor Laura...

Members of UC Merced's Theater and Ecology class are pictured.

Public Invited to Environmental Humanities Play that Examines Vital Ecological Issues

In 1623, William Shakespeare proclaimed, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." That is, in the eyes of the playwright, every aspect of the world, and that...

New Collaborations Designed to Increase Access to Data Science for All Students

UC Merced is part of several new initiatives aimed at increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of data science studies and opening new opportunities for historically underserved students after...

Graduate students Alauna Wheeler, Arabi Seshappan, Zunaira Iqbal and Hope Hauptman received a prestigious fellowship from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation.

ARCS Scholars Work to Advance STEM Research

Four UC Merced graduate students can focus fully on their research and academic studies this year thanks to a generous gift from the Northern California Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College...

UC Merced sociology graduate students and graduate alumni gave presentations, organized panels or acted as discussants.

UC Merced Well-Represented at California Sociological Association Conference

Nearly a dozen UC Merced graduate students and graduate alumni participated in the annual California Sociological Association (CSA) Conference in Sacramento on Nov. 3-4. The theme of this year...

An Exploration of Music's Role in Children's Brain Development

Music can be entertaining, moving and, when played too loud, infuriating. It also plays a vital role in the development of children's brains, one researchers are just beginning to understand....