Student Life

Sow and Grow Workshops Connect Smart Farm, Community

November 13, 2025

Photo depicts Ph.D. student Lynn Breithaupt holding up a native plant cutting.

On a chilly autumn morning at the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm, about a dozen people enthusiastically dug/plunged their hands into soil in an exercise on how to propagate plants. For the less horticulturally inclined, propagating is the process of creating new plants from a single parent...

Honor Student Gives UC Merced a New 'Cat to Cheer About

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester. Jenna Hinds, a Central Valley native, is bringing spirit to UC Merced. Hinds discovered a...

A graphic depicts a book, a light bulb, a computer and a photo of Lucas Khoi Nguyen.

New Bobcat from Atwater Aims High in Business, Basketball

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2024 semester. Lucas Khoi Nguyen was a standout student athlete at Atwater High School before signing a...

UC Merced student Josh Ren is pictured in an economics class.

Students Find Inspiration, Success at UC Merced

Coming out of high school in San Jose, Josh Ren found himself with limited options for college. He wasn't sold on UC Merced at first, but eventually jumped at the opportunity to attend a...

It’s Official: UC Merced to Compete in NCAA Division II Athletics

UC Merced will begin Division II competition after official acceptance Thursday by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The university will begin NCAA Division II competition in the...

UC Merced VC of Student Affairs Charles Nies with students

Lighting the Path: Thank You and Farewell to Charles Nies

It’s spring break 2009 and Jane Lawrence is rushing across campus, the words from the phone call still ringing in her ear. The unimaginable is happening and she must tell Charles Nies...

A student is congratulated by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz on the commencement stage.

More Than 1,300 Bobcats Will Cross the Stage During UC Merced Commencement Weekend

More than 1,300 students plan to participate in UC Merced's Spring 2024 Commencement, celebrated with three distinct ceremonies on the campus's Recreation Field. The first ceremony...

My UC Merced Journey, Class of 2024

As senior Bobcats prepare to walk the stage this weekend, we asked them to reflect on their own personal journeys at UC Merced. In response, we received stories of growth, self-exploration ...

UC Merced's Professor Valerie Leppert at Bobcat Day

Thousands Enjoy a Big ‘Welcome’ at Bobcat Day

Fernando Malagon and his mom stood at the head of a line for guided tours of the university he plans to attend this fall. The informational stroll around UC Merced would be more for her than for him...

UC Merced Welcomes Future Bobcats for Bobcat Day

UC Merced will host incoming students, their families and friends on Saturday, April 20, for Bobcat Day - the university's annual open house. Bobcat Day will begin at 9:15 a.m. with a...