Students

UC Merced to Celebrate the Class of 2025 with Spring Commencement Ceremonies

May 14, 2025

The University of California, Merced, will celebrate the accomplishments of more than 1,500 students during its Spring 2025 Commencement ceremonies, to be held May 16 -18 on the UC Merced Recreation Field. The ceremonies will recognize graduates from all academic schools over three days of...

Graduating seniors receive their Alpha Kappa Delta cords for graduation at the symposium. From left to right: Valezka Murillo, Karen Gomez, Lesly Castro, Keila Luna, Rocío Murillo, Anne Oyales, Ellie Robledo, and Professor Sharla Alegria

Sociology Honors Society Hosts First Annual Research Symposium

Finals are a busy time for students, but that didn’t stop UC Merced’s sociology undergraduates from kicking off their first annual Alpha Kappa Delta Research Symposium on April 19....

Professor Sora Kim examines a fossilized shark's tooth.

One Key to Climate Change Could Be Stuck in a Shark’s Tooth

Most people wouldn’t think sharks can teach researchers about the planet’s distant past and its more immediate future. UC Merced paleoecologist Professor Sora Kim isn’t most...

A Night of Community Art Showcases Principles of Community

Fourteen students, faculty and staff members drew upon their artistic skills to create an array of art pieces to showcase at UC Merced’s Night of Community Art on April 19. The event is the...

Commencement Behind the Scenes: A True Team Effort

It’s before dawn on a Saturday morning in mid-May — not a time anyone would expect the UC Merced campus to be busy. But it is. This is Spring Commencement, and there is much work to do...

Devon Glover, The Sonnet Man, speaks to students at Gracey Elementary School in Merced.

Shakespeare Rapper Schools Students with Hip Hop Sonnets

In what world are Shakespeare and hip-hop related? Ask Devon Glover. Glover is The Sonnet Man, a Shakespeare-loving rapper who sets The Bard’s famous sonnets to hip-hop instrumentals. Using...

Chancellor Dorothy Leland was joined by UC Merced students, staff, alumni and trustees at the second annual UC Merced Day in Sacramento.

Advocates Bring University’s Story to Sacramento on ‘UC Merced Day’

Just days after visiting the nation’s capital, Chancellor Dorothy Leland trekked to the state capital to advocate for the campus and the UC system as part of UC Merced Day. In the second...

UC Merced students took part in the annual Pride Week march on Monday, April 1.

Pride Week Celebrates Year of Growth, Resistance and Expression

On Monday, April 1st LGBTQ+ students and allies at UC Merced kicked off their annual Pride Week festivities with a ceremony by the Native Indigenous Student Coalition (NISC), followed by a...

Participants in this year's production of "As You Like It" include: UC Merced student Angel Nunez, Yosemite Park Ranger Jess Rivas, local English teacher Bethy Harmelin, UC Merced faculty member Tawanda Chabikwa and UC Merced student Maria Nguyen-Cruz.

‘All the World’s a Stage’ with Shakespeare in Yosemite’s 3rd Annual Production

William Shakespeare’s plays are meant to be enjoyed by a live, theater audience and there is no better place to experience The Bard than Yosemite National Park. For the third year, UC Merced...

Kumaran Akilan presented his research on using a smartphone to potentially diagnose Alzheimer's disease at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

Young UC Merced Student Developing Smartphone Diagnostics for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease affects people all over the world and Kumaran Akilan’s family is no different. As the first-year student from Cupertino waits to see if his grandfather’s mild...