Campus

UC Merced has earned the distinction of ranking No. 20 among the world's Rising Young Universities, according to the just-released Nature Index 2021 Young Universities — the only U.S. institution to place in the top 25.

Among the leading 150 Young Universities, UC Merced ranks No. 80, and for Leading 50 Young Universities in Life Sciences, it ranks No. 43. These rankings are a jump from 2019, when the campus placed No. 92 among Top 175 Young Universities.

A generous gift from UC Merced alumnus Eric Chen, Ph.D., ’11, and his wife, Joanne Hsu, to establish a new scholarship is advancing the university’s efforts to encourage and support students pursuing medical studies and training in the Central Valley.

Scholarship funding — which includes contributions from the Chen Family Foundation and Chen’s employer, Megaforce International Corporation — will benefit promising UC Merced undergraduates enrolled in the campus’s Bachelor of Science to Medical Degree (BS to MD) program, which is scheduled to launch in Fall 2023.

After a monthslong collaboration between dozens of UC Merced students, professional artists, National Park Service staff and Merced community members, Shakespeare in Yosemite's first feature-length film, "Imogen in the Wild," celebrated its premiere in November on YouTube.

University of California, Merced women's soccer defender Maddie Door has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Soccer First Team for her stellar performances athletically and in the classroom.

As a way to help students reach their academic goals, UC Merced is inviting campus supporters to virtually come together and take part in the “Give to UC Merced” initiative.

For a second year, the traditional 24-hour period of giving held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving will be expanded through the whole month of December. The event will begin Tuesday, Nov. 30, and end Friday, Dec. 31.

This time around, what happened in Las Vegas will not stay there — at least for Cathryn Flores. The fourth-year undergraduate, who's working on a major in English and minor in writing, reached yet another milestone in her music career as she attended a major Latin music awards show recently to be part of a social media team.

When people hear the word “solar,” many think of solar panels on a house, which generate electricity. But there is another way to use energy harnessed by the sun: heat.

What happens if you take a person's happy face, put it on an angry-looking body and place that in front of a disgusting scene? What do people see? What emotion do people perceive when you mix and match these different cues?

Many UC Merced students are first-generation college students, meaning they are the first in their families to pursue college degrees and the types of careers having a degree affords. UC Merced’s strong relationships with industry partners plays a key role in helping students navigate these career paths. A new partnership between the School of Engineering and OMRON Robotics and Safety Technologies will help students find opportunities in the robotics field.

UC Merced’s commitment to the success of Latino students has been recognized with the prestigious Seal of Excelencia.