Undergraduate Students

Student Finds Community and Purpose Through Culture and Literature

March 12, 2026

Student stands outdoors on the UC Merced campus holding a notebook and pen, looking off into the distance near a campus walkway lined with leafless trees.

Between classes at UC Merced, you will often find Padme James under the trees outside the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library. What she studies there isn’t directly correlated to her classwork, but it connects her roots to where she hopes her future is headed. Instead of reviewing notes for a...

Student Teams Win Cash Prizes at Innovate to Grow

The winners of this year’s Innovate to Grow competition have been announced. The event includes three components: The Mobile App Challenge, the Capstone competition for senior...

Graduates and Supporters Share Excitement on Social Media

The world of social media was buzzing this past weekend with text and multimedia posts. Here is a sampling: [View the story “UC Merced Honors the Class of 2015” on Storify]

Political Science Grad Gaining Capital Experience

Baltazar Cornejo is poised to become a strong and tireless advocate for the Central Valley, thanks to a fellowship program that provides real-world experience in state government. Born in Modesto to...

Campus to Mark Milestone with 10th Graduating Class

When students walk across the stage at this weekend’s commencement ceremonies at the University of California, Merced, they will join the nearly 4,000 scholars who have earned degrees from the...

Innovate to Grow Promises Exciting Developments

Innovate to Grow, the annual showcase of UC Merced student creativity, features some amazing teamwork this year, from medical and agricultural devices to mobile applications for saving energy and...

Mentoring Program Empowers Student Leaders

For senior Jessica Nguyen, UC Merced has fueled more than academic preparedness — it has sparked her fervent interest in civic leadership. Nguyen has been involved in the Women’s Program’s Lift While...

Campus Celebrates 10th Annual Leadership Awards

The 2015 UC Merced Leadership Awards were held this evening (April 30) at the Wallace-Dutra Amphitheater. Presented by the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center, the awards recognize and celebrate...

Volleyball Standout Excels On Campus and Abroad

Daniel Sabzehzar didn’t initially think of UC Merced as a strong contender when weighing his choices for college. In fact, he was days away from selecting another university when UC Merced offered...

Peer Learning Support Boosts Student Success

From the moment students walk onto campus, they have access to countless resources, including the Peer Assisted Support Learning Support (PALS) program, which is part of the Calvin E. Bright Success ...