Social Sciences

Two Social Science Graduate Students Earn Fellowships

July 3, 2025

image with two people with brown/black hair and the Beginnings sculture

UC Merced Ph.D. candidates Eliana Fonsah and Nihan Karagul are recipients of the highly competitive dissertation fellowship from the UC Institute of Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). They competed with doctoral candidates from across the UC system, resulting in about 10% of applicants...

Campus Efforts Improve Community’s Access to Healthy Foods

Hunger is a critical issue facing most of the nation and the world, but it’s even closer to home than some might think. At UC Merced, it's an issue that many students face, and one that...

New Center, Conference Focus on Mesoamerican Studies

Topics ranging from ethnobotany, public health and feminism to agriculture, urban growth and social movements are among the highlights of the Mesoamerican Studies Center’s upcoming conference...

Critical Race and Ethnic Studies is Campus’s Newest Major

Starting this semester, students in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) will have a new major option: Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES). Led by professors Ma Vang and Kit...

Immigration Status Has Health Implications for Young Latinos, Study Shows

Young undocumented Latinos who gain legal status, even on a temporary basis, experience significant positive effects on their psychological well-being, according to a new study published in the...

UC Merced Library Chosen to Digitize AIDS Historical Archives

The UC Merced Library’s digital assets team is playing an important role in providing access to a swath of modern history that will contribute to research and society. The team has been asked to...

New Collaboration Focuses on Refugee Stories, Experiences and Humanity

Often, when people talk about or study refugees, the focus is on policy, rescue operations or terrorism. Rarely is the conversation centered on refugees as human beings. But a new collaboration among...

Despite Farms, Some in Valley Struggle to Find Fresh Food

It might come as a surprise that, in a region where agriculture is so prevalent, many people in the San Joaquin Valley cannot afford fresh, quality produce or live too far from grocery stores,...

Study: Infants Recognize Surprise in Others Before Age 2

Infants as young as 20 months of age expect adults to display surprise when discovering a false belief, according to a new study from UC Merced Professor Rose Scott. Previous research suggested that...

Cognitive Scientist Earns Early Career Impact Award

UC Merced Professor Rick Dale is a recipient of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) Early Career Impact Award from the Society for Computers in Psychology. Dale...