Social Sciences

UC Merced Aerial Picture
Perseverance, Leadership Key Themes of Campus’ Spring Commencement
May 15, 2018
UC Merced’s exuberant spring graduates got the chance to demonstrate their gratitude during the 13th Spring Commencement ceremonies this weekend as many of them paused to thank the faculty members and loved ones who helped them... Read More
New Scholarship Pays Homage to Persistence and Research
May 10, 2018
A generous gift from the grandmother of a UC Merced alumna and current staff member is benefitting two undergraduate students who put the UC Merced Library to good use. Melissa Becerra, a third-year psychology student, and Nathan Parmeter... Read More
Professor’s Fellowship Allows Renewed Focus on Sociology of Race in South Africa
May 3, 2018
Professor Whitney Pirtle recently became the first researcher to win the prestigious Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship while employed at UC Merced — a grant that will help her finish writing a book and move her closer to gaining... Read More
Undergraduate Student Advocates for Youth at Empowerment Event
April 18, 2018
Kimberly Ramirez Gonzalez has been advocating for youth for four years and she is committed to dedicating the rest of her life to doing so. The third-year UC Merced student takes the stage April 19 alongside world-renowned entertainers and... Read More
Researchers Examine Barriers to Organ Donation and Possible Remedies
April 16, 2018
Every 10 minutes, someone is added to the national organ transplant waiting list, and about once every hour, someone on the list is removed — either because they died while waiting or grew too ill for surgery. The number of Americans on... Read More
Campus’s First Student Fulbright Scholar Heads to El Salvador for Research
April 11, 2018
UC Merced graduate student Danielle Bermudez will spend the next 10 months in El Salvador, conducting research and serving as a cultural ambassador for the campus as a Fulbright U.S. Student Researcher. She is the campus’s first student... Read More
Women’s Soccer Star, Campus Leader Wraps Four Fulfilling Years
April 9, 2018
When prospective student-athletes visit UC Merced, soccer standout Abbie-Leigh Meneses is among the first people they meet. Not long ago, Meneses was a recruit herself, touring the University of California’s 10th and newest campus. She... Read More
LibraryCAVE Brings Virtual Reality and Big Data Into the Classroom
December 20, 2017
Professor Nicola Lercari is leading his students on a tour of Palenque, the ancient Mesoamerican city that flourished at the peak of Maya civilization. They’re exploring the altar atop the Temple of the Cross, inspecting it from all angles... Read More
Former Street Kid Fulfills Educational Promise with Ph.D.
December 11, 2017
As a teenager in Merced, Marcus Shaw lived a life marked by poverty, poor choices and indifference to education. The idea of college — especially at the new UC Merced campus — seemed like an opportunity for someone else. Yet on Dec. 16,... Read More
Sociology Faculty, Students Gaining National Recognition
November 27, 2017
With race, immigration, rising inequality, gender discrimination and collective mobilization grabbing current headlines, the work of the UC Merced sociology unit — always relevant locally — is gaining wider recognition across the country... Read More