Campus Life

UC Merced’s Office of Sustainability and Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion are working to create a more inclusive workforce.

This summer, both offices are teaming up with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit international environmental advocacy group, to allow one student to participate in an exclusive paid remote internship to gain experience in ecological research alongside the NRDC clean transportation team.

In Dr. Carrie L. Byington, the novel coronavirus met a formidable foe.

As an expert in infectious disease, Byington has been uniquely suited to use her role as executive vice president and head of University of California Health (UCH) to battle the virus that triggered a global pandemic. On April 26, UCH announced it had administered 1 million doses through a statewide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

The pandemic has changed many aspects of life, but UC Merced Bobcats demonstrated their ability to overcome life's unexpected curveballs during an academic year unlike any other.

To ensure each student’s accomplishments are celebrated, UC Merced will host its second virtual spring commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 15, for the Class of 2021.

Like many students at UC Merced, pre-medical student Nina Bouzamondo-Bernstein faced uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world.

She had applied for more than 40 clinical research care openings, but the pandemic had closed them all down. Feeling cornered by the changes happening around her, she decided to take charge of the situation.

“I decided to take steps to give other students the resources they needed to continue studying,” Bouzamondo-Bernstein said. “That’s when I came up with the idea of an online platform.”

It’s an incredible time to be a Bobcat student-athlete.

In a year turned inside-out by COVID-19, UC Merced’s intercollegiate teams have risen above with atmospheric levels of success.

With all sports seasons shifted to spring because of the global pandemic, UC Merced squads burst out of the gate and racked up one success after another.

Many students don’t think about internships until later in college, but at UC Merced undergraduate students can take advantage of hands-on training with faculty before even starting regular classes. Through the FACTS Bridge Program, first-year and transfer students get a head start on research and much more.

Graduate school is tough, but graduate students have a place to turn to for advocacy and support on campus.

Since it was established in 2005, UC Merced’s Graduate Student Association (GSA) has promoted graduate students’ rights and worked with the Graduate Division and other campus leadership to ensure that students’ best interests are met.

Eleven buildings in the Merced 2020 Project, UC Merced’s ambitious public-private partnership that nearly doubled the campus footprint, have been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth chancellor in the summer, and celebrating its 15th anniversary and the opening of a slew of shiny new buildings in the fall. By any measure, it was to be a momentous year for UC Merced.

There was an undeniable feeling of optimism and excitement in January 2020, as the calendar turned to a new year at the University of California, Merced. The university would be welcoming its fourth chancellor in the summer, and celebrating its 15th anniversary and the opening of a slew of shiny new buildings in the fall. By any measure, it was to be a momentous year for UC Merced.