Academics

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Grant Supports UC Merced Effort to Improve College Readiness in Valley

A significant grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will advance UC Merced's efforts to create a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of college readiness among high-school students in the San Joaquin Valley, particularly those from underrepresented and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.

Give to UC Merced 2023 Raises Nearly $1.3 Million, Shattering Year-Old Record

Hundreds of UC Merced supporters made it crystal clear they believe in the university's mission, giving a record-breaking amount to support current Bobcats and other members of the campus community, through scholarships and fellowships, research projects and more.

A total of 692 gifts were made during the campus's annual monthlong fundraising campaign, Give to UC Merced, which amounted to nearly $1.3 million in vital funding for the university.

I2G Highlights Students' Solutions to Real-World Problems

Using magnetic resource imaging, or MRI, to harmlessly detect seeds in Mandarin oranges. Identification of pathogens in an image library with artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose plant disease. Creating a robot to more efficiently manufacture a robot. Building a user-friendly database to organize information for a global tech organization. Production-grade employee coaching and training applications for a large cold chain industry and a multinational computer storage company.

Give to UC Merced 2023 Invites Campus and Community to Help Create Lasting Impact

After Thanksgiving wraps up, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday take hold of many people's time, attention and dollars. However, there is another day of opportunity — one that holds the potential of creating a positive ripple effect originating at UC Merced and extending across the globe.

Campus and Academic Growth Highlighted in UC Merced State of the University Address

Distinguished rankings, new academic offerings, world-class research and campus expansions were among the highlights of the UC Merced State of the University address delivered by Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

"The state of this 20-year-old institution is unparalleled in the history of American higher education," said Muñoz. "And now I would like to invite you to join me in imagining an even more impactful future for our campus, faculty, staff and students."

UC Merced Receives 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award

UC Merced has received the 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

As a recipient of the annual HEED Award - a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion - UC Merced will be featured, along with 107 other recipients, in the November/December 2023 issue of the magazine.

Aguirre-Muñoz Brings Biliteracy Education Resources to Livingston

Cognitive Science Professor Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz has a passion for biliteracy that has driven her to improve the quality of learning in both English and Spanish at schools in Texas and Central California.

A $3 million National Professional Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education funded her work in the small Merced County town of Livingston. This summer, she worked with Livingston Unified School District teachers interested in developing their biliteracy knowledge and teaching practices.

New Major Trains Students to Tell the Planet’s Urgent Stories

Compelling storytelling is vital to ensuring the action needed to secure a habitable planet for future generations, according to an increasing amount of research.

UC Merced is recruiting students now to become the next environmental storytellers.

Students who are interested in creatively conveying the urgency of environmental issues can make that mission the focus of their studies when the new environmental humanities (EH) major begins at UC Merced in fall 2024.

Three Hellman Fellows Awarded at UC Merced

Three UC Merced researchers have recently received the prestigious Hellman Fellowship.

Computer science and engineering Professor Shijia Pan, economics Professor Briana Ballis and life and environmental sciences Professor Xuan Zhang have all been named Hellman Fellows.

UC Merced Rises Nearly 40 Spots in U.S. News College Rankings

UC Merced's commitment to student success continues to earn national recognition as the university climbed to No. 60 - up from No. 97 last year - in U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Colleges in the nation released today. Among US public institutions UC Merced placed in the top 30, leaping to No. 28 in the country.

The placement represents UC Merced's highest-ever ranking in the annual report, and the improvement over last year is the biggest jump in the school's existence. Overall, UC Merced had the biggest gain of all schools in the Top 100, rising 37 spots.