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...

Staff Members Make Campus Safety a Top Priority

During most weekdays, you’ll find Student Employment Coordinator Phyllis Enea in the Center for Professional and Career Advancement, assisting students and training managers throughout the hiring ...

‘My Merced’ Captures Campus’ Spirit in Song

From the moment they step foot on the UC Merced campus, people often say they feel a sense of pride and belonging. Award-winning composer Jimmy Dunne has attempted to capture the essence of that...

Trailblazing Senior Sets Sights on Future Goals

In high school, Domonique Jones knew she wanted to go to college. She also knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Raised by her single mother in Hercules, Jones was the first in her family to consider and...

Donor Match Will Quadruple #GivingTuesday Gifts

The season of giving is just around the corner, and UC Merced is getting in the spirit. On Dec. 1, the campus will participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. All around the...

Four Students Win Dan David Solar Fellowships

Four students from diverse disciplines have been named Dan David Solar Fellows through the University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar), headquartered at UC Merced. The...

Engineering Professor and Students Team Up with Chevron

Professor Ashlie Martini is one of only a few university researchers in the country who work on tribology — the study of friction, lubrication and wear. Her work and her willingness to develop...

Campus Research Taking a Healthy Approach

By Jeremy Olson for UC Merced Magazine Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2015 issue of UC Merced Magazine. The University of California, Merced, was plotted at the juncture...

Spanish, Arts Students Contribute to Cultural Exhibit and Celebration

The value of having a University of California campus in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley is that its students, staff and faculty can affect the community as much as the community affects them....

Fellowship Funds Undergrad’s Research on Biofilms

UC Merced undergraduate students can find opportunities to conduct research in a lab as early as their freshman year — what’s less common is getting that research funded. Fourth-year biology major...