University of California, Merced

UC Merced opened Sept. 5, 2005, as the newest campus in the University of California system and the first American research university of the 21st century. Situated near Yosemite National Park, the campus significantly expands access to the UC system for students throughout the state, with a special mission to increase college-going rates among students in the San Joaquin Valley. It also serves as a major base of advanced research, a model of sustainable design and construction, and a stimulus to economic growth and diversification throughout the region.

The mission of the University of California, Merced is embodied in its pride in being the first American research university of the 21st century.

UC Merced’s three schools — the School of Engineering, School of Natural Sciences, and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts — offer undergraduate and graduate programs, resources and laboratories that enrich students’ educational experiences.

Undergraduates can choose from 22 majors and 24 minors, while graduate students can choose to join one of the 14 graduate groups managed by more than 200 full-time faculty members, all of whom have come to UC Merced from leading universities across the nation and around the world. The full-time faculty is enhanced by visiting professors and lecturers from many different backgrounds.

Undergraduate students can conduct research under the mentorship of innovative professors, an opportunity that enhances each student researcher's education by offering new perspectives on what's learned in classrooms and giving heightened experiences that will look great on resumes or graduate school applications. The campus’ state-of-the-art facilities offer many places to meet, study or work in laboratories. Undergraduates can also choose to spend some time studying abroad.

Graduate students apply what they learn in classes to the research they’re conducting in pursuit of their master’s or doctoral degrees. The close-knit graduate community fosters opportunities to cross disciplines and work with people in other fields to solve big problems.

Opening in 2005 as the newest campus of the University of California, UC Merced continually strives for excellence in carrying out the university's mission of teaching, research and public service, benefiting society by discovering and transmitting new knowledge and functioning as an active repository of organized knowledge. As a key tenet in carrying out this mission, UC Merced promotes and celebrates the diversity of all members of its community.

A research university is a community bound by learning, discovery and engagement. As the first American student-centered research university built in the 21st century, UC Merced's strong graduate and research programs mesh with high-quality undergraduate programs. New knowledge increasingly depends on links among the disciplines, working together on questions that transcend the traditional disciplines. UC Merced fosters and encourages cross-disciplinary inquiry and discovery.

Interdisciplinary practice in research nourishes undergraduate learning, building a foundation in connecting the ways that academic disciplines understand and grapple with society's problems. UC Merced undergraduates experience education inside and outside the classroom, applying what they learn through undergraduate research, service learning and leadership development. As apprentice scholars, graduate students build their understanding of and ability to do independent research in their chosen field, as the groundwork for entering professional life. Lifelong learners continue to hone their knowledge and workplace skills.

The 21st century ushered in the promise of new ways of connecting people to new knowledge and to one another. UC Merced capitalizes on this promise by functioning as a network, not simply a single place, linking its students, faculty and staff to the educational resources of the state, nation and world.

The idea of network extends to UC Merced’s relationships with neighboring institutions: educational, cultural and social. Born as a member of the distinguished network known as the University of California, UC Merced seeks strong and mutually supportive relationships with a variety of collaborators in its region: public and private colleges and universities; federal and state organizations that share UC Merced’s educational and research goals; and cultural and social institutions.

This networking principle is also realized through the physical and intellectual integration between UC Merced and its surrounding community. The campus has been established as a model of physical sustainability for the 21st century, inviting all members of the campus and surrounding community to think and act as good stewards of the environment that they will convey to future generations. UC Merced celebrates its location in the San Joaquin Valley, reflecting the poetry of its landscape, history, resources and diverse cultures, while capitalizing on and expanding the Valley's connections to the emerging global society. UC Merced recognizes that research that begins with the natural laboratory at home can extend what is known in the state, nation and world.

Just like at other UC campuses, academic research is a critical part of UC Merced's mission. The process of discovery provides our students with a deeper understanding of the world and its cultural, social, natural and engineered systems, but more, it solves issues and challenges that are critical to the growth, health and overall well-being of the region, the state, nation and world.

Our researchers are conducting groundbreaking work in diabetes, cancer, bacterial diseases, antibiotic resistance, solar energy, climate change, water quality and availability, ecology, engineering, archeology, cultures, history, political science, computer science and much, much more.