Campus

UC Merced will celebrate hundreds of graduates alongside their friends and families in the Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre this weekend. There are 402 Bobcats set to participate in the fall commencement ceremonies in downtown Merced.

The festivities begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, with the Graduate Division commencement ceremony.

Recognizing food as both sustenance and a cultural experience that can evoke memories, cross boundaries and bring people together, seasoned chef and media personality Ed Porter recently brought his latest short film to UC Merced for an exclusive screening.

“The Food that Fuels” is a documentary that highlights the San Joaquin Valley and its role as a global supplier of fresh produce. It features a section on UC Merced’s Experimental Smart Farm and regional farms participating in Dining Services’ award-winning BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Produce Buying Program.

On Dec. 3, the date of this year's Giving Tuesday, UC Merced will participate in the worldwide day of charitable giving by launching Give to UC Merced 2024. For the fifth year, the university's annual fundraising initiative will extend beyond its original 24-hour period to the entire month of December.

Medical education at UC Merced is expanding at a rapid pace as part of the campus’ long-term goal to address the shortage of physicians and health care professionals in the Central Valley.

Philanthropist and community leader Ed Kashian was awarded the UC Merced Chancellor’s Medal, the university’s highest honor, at the campus’s State of the University event on Oct. 9.

UC Merced is being recognized from coast to coast as an institution that “redefines academic excellence, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz said Wednesday in the annual State of the University address.

“As chancellor of this magnificent institution, I tell you that the state of our university is strong, and growing stronger year after year,” Muñoz said.

UC Merced on Wednesday unveiled a striking monument to a university on the rise.

A crowd of students, faculty and staff gathered in the early evening’s long shadows at University Plaza to get their first look at Big Rufus, a 10-foot-long bronze vision of UC Merced’s bobcat mascot. The sculpture paws its way up three staggered concrete-and-steel pillars, gazing resolutely to the horizon.

The University of California, Merced, climbed once again in US News & World Report’s Best Colleges report, rising to the 26th best public school in the nation. Among all universities, UC Merced came in at No. 58 in the 2024-25 rankings released today – continued improvement over last year’s report when it cracked the Top 60 for the first time.

A memorandum of understanding signed between University of California, Merced, and the Los Angeles Community College District this week will extend access for transfer students through the Merced Promise Pathway Program.

When it comes to changing the lives of its students, UC Merced is second to none.

In the latest Wall Street Journal America's Best Colleges rankings, UC Merced was the No. 1 university in the nation for social mobility — a term used to describe how well colleges and universities attract, retain and help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds complete their degrees and graduate into promising careers.