About UC Merced
UC Merced stands as the embodiment of the promise of California’s future. The 10th campus in the prestigious University of California system, UC Merced is diverse, growing and committed to those ideals that serve the state, nation and world through education, research and public service. |
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The University
UC Merced is the first new American research university in the 21st century, with a mission of teaching, research and service. The campus opened September 5, 2005, near Lake Yosemite, California.
We have three schools:
In addition, our administration is planning two new schools:
There is an ever-expanding list of majors, minors and graduate programs taught by more than 90 full-time faculty and dozens of lecturers, who have come to us from some of the world's top-ranked universities.
Our Students
UC Merced's student body is comprised of approximately 2,600 undergraduate students (as of August 2008) who are the brightest in the state. Since 2005, our students have formed more than 100 clubs and organizations, wrote their own constitution and held their first associated students' election.
UC Merced has more than 100 graduate students, who participate in some of the most cutting-edge research being conducted today — from stem cells to artificial intelligence and alternate energy.
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A Research University
In addition, startup funding has been received for the UC Merced Center for Computational Biology and other cooperative research facilities in genomics and imaging. |
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UC Merced has also entered into collaborative research partnerships with the:
UC Merced Leadership
Founding Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey returned to teaching after seven years working to open UC Merced and then retired from the UC system. In January 2007, the UC Board of Regents appointed UC Santa Cruz engineering dean Sung-Mo "Steve" Kang as chancellor. He took office March 1, 2007.
Part of the UC System
Like all campuses in the UC system, UC Merced operates under the direction of the UC President and is governed by The Regents of the University of California, a 26-member board established under the California Constitution.
UC Merced is the first new UC campus in 40 years. It was authorized by the California Legislature in 1988 to address the higher-education needs of the state's fastest-growing region — the San Joaquin Valley (population 3.9 million) — and provide added capacity for the UC system as a whole.
High school graduates from the Valley have historically enrolled in the UC system at about half the rate of graduates from other major parts of the state. The presence of our campus in the Valley is expected to close this gap, and inspire the educational dreams of young people in this underserved region for generations to come.
A Strategic Investment
UC Merced not only increases higher-education access for Valley students, it also help improve the standard of education within the valley. Our campus operates educational outreach centers in Bakersfield and Fresno, which offer:
UC Merced also contributes to the economic growth of Central California. In the San Joaquin Valley, where unemployment and poverty rates substantially exceed California averages, campus construction has supported thousands of jobs, stimulating new business development and pumping millions of dollars into the local economy each year. In addition:
Green Campus
One major goal for UC Merced is to become the greenest campus in the country. As of May 2009:
No other university in the United States has earned LEED Silver or better for every building on campus. This unprecedented achievement demonstrates the university's dedication to excellence in environmentally responsible design, construction and operation.
Also part of our green-campus goal is land conservation. University officials — through a special collaboration with the Packard Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Nature Conservancy and the State of California — have set aside 25,000 acres of grassland habitat for permanent conservation.
Philanthropic Support
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