Campus Community

Open Arms, Open Skies: Students Welcomed at Spirited, Soggy Scholars Bridge Crossing

August 26, 2025

Spirits were high and futures bright while all else was soaked in a summer storm that made Tuesday morning’s Scholars Bridge Crossing, UC Merced’s traditional greeting to new students, a welcome unlike any before. Call them Thunder ‘Cats. The ceremony embraced about 2,000...

Applied Math Grad Student Awarded Prestigious NIH Fellowship

Doctoral student Ali Heydari recently received the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, also known as the National Institute of Health F31 fellowship....

Participants of the College Track Retreat post for a photo at UC Merced.

UC Merced Hosts College Track Retreat

College Track recently held a retreat at UC Merced that brought almost 200 staff members from all over the country to the site to "reflect, renew and rise together." College Track ...

A new four-student cohort will be formed each spring, and each cohort spends two years in the program.

New Bioinformatics Training Opportunity Opening for Undergraduates

Starting this fall, undergraduates interested in the biomedical sciences will have an opportunity to take part in a new and innovative training program that will give them strong foundations in...

Meet incoming first-year student Lizet Martin-Martinez.

Incoming Atwater Student Drawing on Discipline and Training for College Success

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. Lizet Martin-Martinez might not have had any family role...

Campus Names New Dean for the School of Engineering

After a nationwide search, Rakesh Goel was selected as UC Merced’s next dean of the School of Engineering. Goel is a seasoned academic leader who currently serves as executive associate dean...

Professor Ashlie Martini has been awarded the Monya Lane and Robert Bryant Presidential Chair in Excellence in Engineering.

Martini Named to Excellence in Engineering Chair

Mechanical engineering Professor Ashlie Martini has been awarded the Monya Lane and Robert Bryant Presidential Chair in Excellence in Engineering. She is one of two women to be appointed to endowed...

Incoming student Narciso Martinez Solorio is seen in a split image with a UC Merced building.

Atwater Valedictorian Ready to Grow with UC Merced

UC Merced is highlighting incoming students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. Narciso Martinez Solorio applied to 31 colleges and universities...

UC Merced Professor Sarah Kurtz is seen in a photo.

Kurtz Appointed to Endowed Chair; Establishing New Electrical Engineering Major

Engineering Professor Sarah Kurtz has been awarded the Reno Ferrero Family Chair in Electrical Engineering, making her the second woman to hold an endowed chair in the School of Engineering....

Meet incoming first-year student Jordynn Lewis.

Incoming Student Excited to Participate in Public Health Research

UC Merced is highlighting incoming first-year students for fall 2022 — a dynamic, diverse and accomplished cohort of new Bobcats. Jordynn Lewis is excited to start her journey as a UC Merced...