Sociology

Conference of California Sociologists Engages UC Merced Undergrads

December 3, 2025

More than a dozen undergraduate students in UC Merced’s Sociology Club were immersed in the discipline’s breadth of research and professional possibilities during the California Sociological Association’s annual conference. The two-day gathering, held in Berkeley in early...

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...

Grad Students Help Begin Academic Exchange With Honduras

Four UC Merced graduate students got a rare opportunity to establish and strengthen relationships between the campus and the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) this summer. The...

New Book Shows Pros and Cons of Helicopter Parenting

So-called “helicopter parents” — those who hover over their children even into and through their college years — are often criticized for creating overly sheltered, unprepared young adults who...

Sociologist Shows Human Side of Deportation in New Book

A single mother in Guatemala works at a factory owned by a U.S. company, but doesn’t make enough money to support her family. She immigrates to the U.S. and finds a low-paying job with no benefits...

Study: Skewed Academic Expectations Linked to Sexual Risk

Scholars and educators alike believe raising expectations leads to higher achievement and self esteem among adolescents. But new research from the University of California, Merced, shows that when a...

Standout Sociology Program Earns Approval for Grad Degrees

Current and prospective graduate students have new degree options at UC Merced, which recently received approval from the UC system and the WASC Senior College and University Commission for both...

Journalist to Speak on Immigration at Campus Conference

Journalist Roberto Lovato will give the keynote address this week at “Blurring the Border: Deporting Denizens in the 21st Century,” an interdisciplinary conference on immigration, deportation and...

Sociologist Earns Fulbright Scholar Award to Study in Honduras

Paul Almeida, a sociology professor at the University of California, Merced, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to study non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their role in community well...

Sociologist Earns Prestigious Award for 2014 Book

UC Merced Professor Paul Almeida has been selected by the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) as the 2015 recipient of its Distinguished Scholarship Award for his book, “Mobilizing Democracy:...