Student & Alumni Success

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...

UC Merced and Campos Foundation Host ENgage Summer Bridge Academy for Students in STEM

UC Merced, in conjunction with longtime campus partner the Campos Foundation, launched the pilot Campos ENgage Summer Bridge Academy, a weeklong summer program aimed at supporting underrepresented...

UC Merced chancellor, alumni president, chancellor's wife

Play Ball! Bobcats Enjoy Grizzlies Baseball Game

Baseball fans from the UC Merced campus community celebrated the start of the fall semester by witnessing a barnburner of a game at Fresno’s Chukchansi Park. More than 250 Bobcat students,...

New Bobcat Looks to Expand Impressive Research Resume

This is the final entry of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. Adriana Ponce Mata spent the last two summers working in one of the largest and...

Cal-Bridge Scholar Rolando Ortega Wants to Build the Future

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. Rolando Ortega is closing in on his dream of earning a Ph.D. This fall, the Cal-Bridge...

Buhach Valedictorian Pursues Environmental Engineering at UC Merced this Fall

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. Drake Ledford was an exemplary high school student, earning a 4.29 GPA. The Merced...

Incoming UC Merced student Manjot Maan is pictured shooting a basketball against a graphic that reads "Bobcat Bound"

New Adventures Close to Home for Incoming UC Merced Student

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. Manjot Maan is a student-athlete from Modesto who will focus on academics when he...

Two people with a banner, blue and yellow graphic reading "Bobcat Bound."

Incoming Bobcats ‘Grew Up’ with UC Merced

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester. One could say UC Merced has always been part of incoming Bobcats Ella and Satchel Ortez...

UC Merced Recognized Nationally for Excellence, Affordability and Student Success

UC Merced remains one of the top universities in the nation according to Money’s 2025 “Best Colleges in America” report. The university earned 4.5 stars out of 5 in Money’s...

New Alumni-Funded Endowment to Champion LGBTQ+ Initiatives at UC Merced

A group of dedicated UC Merced alumni have come together to launch an endowed fund focused on supporting LGBTQ+ student initiatives, programs and priorities. Spearheaded by University of...

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