Undergraduate Students

Research Week Marks UC Merced’s First Full Year as an R1 Institution

April 9, 2026

Two students and their professor in a UC Merced research lab.

UC Merced will host Research Week April 13-17, celebrating innovative work across campus and encouraging engagement in research among students, faculty and staff. The weeklong event allows the campus community to showcase research findings, participate in workshops, take tours and connect with...

First Group of Recruited Student Athletes Hitting the Courts as Women's Volleyball Team Kicks Off Season

Nine new members of this year’s UC Merced Women’s Volleyball team, from all around the Central Valley, are among the campus’s first group of recruited student athletes. They began practice and...

Impact: Racing Team Puts Classroom Lessons to the Test

http://youtu.be/AZKkpc9PUTQ UC Merced’s Society of Automotive Engineers team members gain hands-on experience that will help them in their future careers and beyond.

Students Share Personal Stories in Program to Keep Kids in School

UC Merced senior Patricia Paredes didn’t grow up in the best neighborhood or have the easiest childhood. But she overcame those hardships to graduate from a San Jose high school and enroll at the...

Academic Year Begins with Sharper Focus on Emerging Fields of Excellence, Graduate Programs and Flexible Growth

The University of California, Merced, begins its eighth academic year today with record enrollment of approximately 5,600 students, a 23 percent increase in graduate-student enrollment and 26 newly...

Events Help New Students Make Transition to Campus Life

This week, UC Merced welcomes more than 1,400 new first-year, transfer and graduate students to campus. Special programs are happening campuswide to provide information and ensure new students have a...

Book Rental Gives Students Instant Savings

Like many students, UC Merced sophomore Demonte Hughes is gearing up for the fall semester. At the top of his list is securing the textbooks required for his courses, which he says is a good...

UC Merced Plasma Lab Turning Leftovers into Cleaner Energy

There’s a reason the UC Merced plasma lab is isolated behind a locking fence near the entrance to campus. There’s some serious heat being produced down there. Engineering professors Gerardo Diaz,...

Researchers Spend Summer Working on Projects Near and Far

From the caves of Belize to laboratories in Japan, UC Merced faculty members and students are abroad conducting research this summer across the globe. Though the semester ended in mid-May, the campus...

Transfer Student Triumphs Over Foster Care Odds

Portia Mira considers herself lucky. Although the UC Merced senior was taken from her parents and spent five years in foster care, she said she and her sister are much better off than most. “Most...