Campus Life

Dozens of UC Merced students took their oaths as members of the College Corps recently. The program, which provides stipends to students in exchange for working with community partners, is in its second year.

The second cohort of UC Merced's College Corps was sworn in Sunday, Aug. 28.

It's more than just a way to help these students pay for college, explained Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Engagement Brian O'Bruba, who administered the oath. It's an opportunity to develop a service mindset that will last a lifetime.

Since its completion three years ago, the Merced 2020 Project has amassed numerous accolades. Most recently, the landmark project that, in essence, doubled the size of the university's campus, was selected to receive the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Americas Award for Excellence.

UC Merced and Merced College will jointly build a 488-bed student housing project for community college and transfer students. The California Legislature gave final approval to the $100 million funding mechanism for the project on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

Professor Martha Conklin started her career at UC Merced at the Castle Research Facility, and it began with a frightening surprise.

“I had a baby rattlesnake in my office,” she said. “The whole building was snake-infested before UC Merced moved in. But it's a small thing — there were a lot of things to work out back then.”

Thousands of incoming UC Merced students participated in the Scholars Bridge Crossing, one of the university's earliest traditions. The annual event is a rite of passage for new Bobcats who also walked through the "Beginnings" sculpture, signifying the beginning of their journey at UC Merced.

New this year, a group of "Bob-kittens" from the Early Childhood Education Center led the spirit-filled procession. Following these future Bobcats was the inaugural "Paw-rade" - a line of more-than-30 golf carts, decked out in various colorful themes by campus departments and groups. 

UC Merced welcomed back thousands of students to campus for the start of the university's 19th academic year!

From Aug. 17-20, family and friends joined incoming Bobcats as they arrived on campus throughout move-in weekend. As they settle into the residence halls, student and staff volunteers were on-hand to help and answer questions. Almost 4,200 undergraduate students will reside in on-campus housing this academic year. (Click to scroll)

Just in time for the start of the academic year, UC Merced's newest landmark has opened —The Labyrinth.

Located in Kelley Grove overlooking Little Lake, UC Merced Art Director Collin Lewis calls The Labryinth "a testament to our university's commitment to fostering creativity, contemplation and community engagement."

UC Merced is preparing to welcome back thousands of students to campus for the start of the university's 19th academic year.

From Aug. 17-20, family and friends will join incoming Bobcats as they arrive on campus throughout move-in weekend. As they settle into the residence halls, student and staff volunteers will be ready to help and answer questions. Almost 4,200 undergraduate students will reside in on-campus housing this academic year.

Here's a challenge:

Four weeks, five days a week and seven hours a day, you have to teach math to middle school students.

During the summer.

And you have to keep it interesting.

The Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) has been doing just that for the past 18 years at several sites, including UC Merced.

How?

UC Merced students will present research conducted over the summer at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

The research presentations mark the end of the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI), a nine-week program conducted and hosted by UROC. This summer, over 160 undergraduate students worked alongside UC Merced faculty and graduate students to conduct research in every discipline offered on campus.