Students

The American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation Recognize UC Merced's Leadership in Community Engagement

January 12, 2026

collage of photo with yellow text on a blue background reading Carnegie Elective Reclassification for Community Engagement

UC Merced has once again been recognized as a national leader in community-engaged scholarship. The 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement affirms the university’s deep and expanding commitment to serving the public. The designation from the American Council on...

Stargazing and Lecture Offer Unique Perspectives on Stars and Exoplanets

The night sky is filled with countless mysteries and worlds yet to be explored but that someday might be visited by spacecraft. In a free event titled “Celestial Tales: Stars, Exoplanets and...

Physiological Society Recognizes Rudy Ortiz for Mentoring Underrepresented Students

Physiology Professor Rudy M. Ortiz has been named this year's winner of the A. Clifford Barger Underrepresented Minority Mentorship Award by the American Physiological Society. The UC Merced...

Professor Winston with his research team and a solar collector.

Founding Faculty Roland Winston Remembered for Pioneering Solar Energy

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Roland Winston, a pioneer in solar energy, engineering and physics, died Feb. 8 at the age of 88 at his home in Merced. A founding faculty member in the schools of...

Students celebrate at the annual barbecue, sponsored by Black clubs and organizations, at Lake Yosemite.

Student-driven Center Offers Safe Space for Community, Resources and Programs

This story is part of a series for Black History Month. Read more stories highlighting Black excellence at UC Merced. The Black Scholars Resource Center might be one of UC Merced’s...

UC Merced Achieves R1: Highest Tier of Research Classification

UC Merced has assumed its place in the top echelon of research institutions in the nation by earning R1 status from Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The announcement was...

UC Merced’s Black Excellence Symposium to Honor Legacy and Inspire Future

"A Legacy of Triumph and a Vision for the Future" is the theme of this year's Black Excellence Symposium at UC Merced. The event, part of the university's Valuing Black Lives...

A fluorescence microscope image of one kind of active matter being studied. Image courtesy of Amanda Tan, UC Merced

UC Awards Support Tackling Big Questions in Health, Physics, Agriculture and Climate

Faculty members at UC Merced are taking the lead on four Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (MRPI), working with colleagues around the University of California system to address challenges...

A student is depicted in front of a poster describing the almonry stockpile project at UC Merced.

Projects That Solve Problems Win Awards at I2G

Helping diplomats navigate new cultures, removing mircroplastics from stormwater and automating raisin processing: These are some of the projects awarded winning scores at UC Merced's fall...

Give to UC Merced Campaign Tops $1.4 Million, Breaking Record for Third Year

Give to UC Merced, the university’s annual year-end fundraising campaign, was the most successful of its 11-year history, garnering nearly $1.43 million from 647 donors. The tremendous show of...