Undergraduate Students

From Strawberries to Smart Farm: Alum Adamaris Alvarez Grows Passion into a Career Path

June 18, 2025

Photo depicts UC Merced graduate Adamaris Alvarez in a black hat on a blue and gold graphic background.

Growing up in Watsonville, a vibrant agricultural community on California's Central Coast, Adamaris Alvarez always knew she wanted to work in agriculture. She worked on her family's berry ranch, Alvarez Farms, where she grew a deep appreciation for the hard work agriculture demands. But...

Engineering Student Making an Impact on Agriculture

Rebecca Quinte is a mechanical engineer who is learning to apply her skills and knowledge in unexpected ways, and that could end up benefitting farmers in the Central Valley and beyond. The UC Merced...

White House Recognizes UC Merced for Supporting Latino Community

UC Merced is one of nearly 150 public and private sector organizations who answered the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics’ 25th anniversary call to action. The campus has...

Anniversary Exhibit Documents History of Campus

A group of UC Merced history students put their knowledge and skills to good use this summer on a project that hits, quite literally, close to home. The students — Josh Melendez, Adam Brown, Ramon...

Take a Stand Against Domestic Violence

To commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, UC Merced’s Campus, Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE) Office is hosting events throughout October. According to a survey by the National...

Busy Weekend Planned for Prospective Students, Families, Alumni

Each fall, UC Merced opens its doors to the community to show what takes place on a research university campus. During Preview Day — scheduled for Oct. 17 — UC Merced welcomes hundreds of high school...

GEM Consortium Brings New Fellowship Opportunities

New fellowship opportunities are available to undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields at UC Merced, thanks to the...

Despite Constraints, UC Merced Enrollment Continues to Grow

Enrollment at the University of California, Merced, this fall has climbed to another all-time high of 6,685 students — an increase of 6.7 percent over Fall 2014, according to headcount figures...

Campus Ranked Among Most Diverse in the U.S.

UC Merced has been identified by Best Colleges as one of the country’s top 50 campuses where students have the most opportunity to interact with different ethnicities, ranking No. 12. UC Merced is...

Program Makes Transition Easier for Transfer Students

Four weeks after her move to UC Merced in January 2014, psychology major Valara Villanueva wasn’t sure if she fit in. She felt academically prepared, but the transition from community college to a...