Student Affairs

While at UC Merced, students work diligently to achieve academically and reach their leadership potential. Each year, the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center awards top students and student organizations for their outstanding leadership qualities, and honors staff and faculty members who have helped students accomplish their aspirations.

Whether staffing the front counter, answering phone cal

Each fall, UC Merced opens its doors to the community to show what takes place on a research university campus.

UC Merced has been identified by Best Colleges as one of the country’s top 50 campuses where students have the most opportunity to interact with different ethnicities, ranking No. 12.

UC Merced is the most ethnically and culturally diverse student body among all University of California campuses.

Enrollment at the University of California, Merced, this fall has climbed to another all-time high of 6,685 students — an increase of 6.7 percent over Fall 2014, according to headcount figures compiled during the third week of instruction.

The concept of taking a “gap year” is gaining steam in the U.S. Typically done between high school and college, these sabbaticals can also occur in the space between graduating college and entering the workforce or beginning graduate school. For many, the transition between phases of life is a mental and physical break filled with travel and life experiences.

Rebekah Contreras found herself entering one of those phases as she concluded her studies at UC Merced this past spring, but she wanted more than an extended vacation.

College can be intimidating — new classes, new people, new responsibilities, and that’s before you even get to the coursework itself. For some, the transition can be difficult.

UC Merced’s Peer Assisted Learning Support (PALS) makes it a little easier for students who might feel intimidated approaching professors about their struggles in a given course. The learning sessions match trained student tutors with other students, and they cover many subjects. 

A new grant from the U.S. Department of Education will help the University of California, Merced, establish important support services for first-generation and low-income students who have yet to declare a major.

The grant, totaling $1.09 million over five years, will launch the Strengthening Talents and Exploring Pathways (STEP) program. STEP will be part of the Calvin E. Bright Success Center’s existing Fiat Lux program, which serves underrepresented students at UC Merced.

When students walk across the stage at this weekend’s commencement ceremonies at the University of California, Merced, they will join the nearly 4,000 scholars who have earned degrees from the university, while marking yet another campus milestone as the campus’s 10th graduating class.