Social Sciences

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Social Sciences Graduate Programs Shine in U.S. News Rankings
April 10, 2025
UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts made a splash in the latest rankings of university graduate programs compiled by U.S. News and World Report. The university’s Political Science program ranked 52nd in the... Read More
Stargazing and Lecture Offer Unique Perspectives on Stars and Exoplanets
February 27, 2025
The night sky is filled with countless mysteries and worlds yet to be explored but that someday might be visited by spacecraft. In a free event titled “Celestial Tales: Stars, Exoplanets and the Myths That Connect Us,” on March 6, the... Read More
Todo Cambia Festival Takes New Artistic Directions
February 24, 2025
Todo Cambia, UC Merced’s annual Human Rights Film Festival, is about more than film this year. The seven-day festival kicks off Saturday, March 1 with a talk and readings by a former Texas state poet laureate. Days later, a UC Santa... Read More
UC Awards Support Tackling Big Questions in Health, Physics, Agriculture and Climate
February 5, 2025
Faculty members at UC Merced are taking the lead on four Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (MRPI), working with colleagues around the University of California system to address challenges around labor and agriculture, active matter... Read More
COVID Lockdown Disrupted Preschoolers’ Social Skills, Trailblazing Research Shows
January 29, 2025
Lockdowns. Social distancing. Shuttered schools and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping disruptions set off a stampede of “what it’s doing to us” research, focused largely on schoolchildren. How were students’ academics... Read More
Give to UC Merced Campaign Tops $1.4 Million, Breaking Record for Third Year
January 26, 2025
Give to UC Merced, the university’s annual year-end fundraising campaign, was the most successful of its 11-year history, garnering nearly $1.43 million from 647 donors. The tremendous show of generosity far exceeded the original goal of $... Read More
Novel Research Reveals Costs, Rewards for Youth Who Serve as Emotion Interpreters
January 13, 2025
Young people whose parents or caregivers aren’t acclimated to their community’s dominant language and culture play a valuable role in bridging communication gaps, including unspoken misunderstandings triggered by a gesture or facial... Read More
In UC Merced Standup Comedy Course, Joy is the Punchline
December 11, 2024
Katherine Cai is on stage, reminiscing about high school. “My dad tried to teach me geometry. You know how that goes. The questions get more and more difficult and Dad gets more and more frustrated, which leads to both of us having a... Read More
Give to UC Merced 2024 to Launch on Giving Tuesday
December 2, 2024
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... Read More
Spendlove Prize Winner Brings Spirit of Ubuntu to UC Merced
November 14, 2024
Tsitsi Dangarembga spread the spirit of ubuntu over UC Merced on Wednesday night, imparting its message of “how we can be good people who live well together.” Dangarembga, a Zimbabwean filmmaker, writer and activist, is the 16th recipient... Read More