Undergraduate Students

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...

Bobcat Day Brings Admitted Students to Campus

Students from across California and their family members will converge on the UC Merced campus April 16 for Bobcat Day. The day is an opportunity for admitted students to visit campus, and talk with...

Recovery Group Supports Students Dealing With Addiction

Last fall, UC Merced’s first peer-led recovery program — known as Bobcats for Recovery — began meeting weekly to help support undergraduate and graduate students in recovery from substance use ...

Events Planned to Increase Sexual Assault Awareness

UC Merced’s Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE) Office will kick off Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) on April 1 with numerous events. The month of education is an...

Campus Celebrates LGBT+ Culture During Pride Week

UC Merced’s Pride Week kicks off March 28. The weeklong celebration is hosted by Lambda Alliance and LGBTQ+ Initiatives in the Office of Student Life. It’s a collaborative effort to affirm the LGBT+...

Student-Athlete Takes Leadership to the National Level

Junior Sammantha Fajardo wasn’t satisfied with merely representing UC Merced on the cross country course, so she stepped up to represent the university’s student-athletes at the national level. In...

Students Can Catch Up, Save Up With Summer Session

Completing degree requirements in eight semesters can be challenging for many students. Add a minor, a job or a semester abroad, and students can easily find themselves playing catch-up. That’s why...

Student Volunteers Work With Local Emergency Department

In Fall 2007, Maricela Rangel-Garcia became one of the first UC Merced students to sign up for a new, non-clinical volunteer program in the busy Mercy Medical Center Emergency Department (ED). Her...