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...

Student Bridges Generation Gap, Finds Acceptance and Fulfillment

David Brantley isn’t a typical UC Merced student. He’s older by a few decades. He’s already built a career as a professional photographer. And he’s the patriarch of three generations of Brantleys on ...

Impact: Creating More Realistic Virtual Reality Avatars

http://youtu.be/bWfh28B-hv0 UC Merced's computer graphics lab, with body sensors, motion-capture cameras, and a giant movie screen is straight out of Hollywood. But instead of producing blockbusters...

Researchers Assist IBM in Cognitive Computer Chip Design

A team of researchers led by IBM, including a pair of professors from the University of California, Merced, unveiled today a new generation of experimental computer chips designed to emulate the...

Stanford Runner, Researcher Ready for Next Step

Spencer Castro is moving from one of the nation's most established research universities and most successful athletics programs to one building its reputation in both regards. He's also coming home,...

Study: Climate Change to Increase Yellowstone Wildfires Dramatically

An increase in wildfires due to climate change could rapidly and profoundly alter the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, according to a new study authored by environmental engineering and geography...

Political Science Students Experience Legislative Process

UC Merced students took to the floor of the California Senate last week, sitting in the seats of the legislators they have portrayed all summer as a part of their Government in Action course. The...

Study: Urban Rail Reduces Carbon Monoxide Air Pollution

The opening of a major urban rail system in Taiwan caused a meaningful reduction in air pollution, according to a forthcoming study by two professors at the University of California, Merced. “Despite...

Human Rights a Passion for Literature Professor

Just after graduating college in 1995, Nigel Hatton showed up for the first day of his journalism internship with the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. That afternoon, he was assigned to go with...

Homegrown Alum Earns Law Degree

Ann Hinesley-Perez's original academic plans didn't involve law school — or even UC Merced. Hinesley-Perez was born and raised in Merced, but with UC Merced still in development, she left town in...