The University of California, Merced (UC Merced) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

and

Hispanic-serving institution A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) stude ...

located in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

, and is the tenth and newest of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

(UC) campuses. Established in 2005, UC Merced was founded to "address chronically low levels of educational attainment in the region." UC Merced enrolls 8,321 undergraduates and 772 graduates with 63.8% of students receiving

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

s, more than 99% of UC Merced students coming from California, and the largest percentage of low-income students from underrepresented ethnic groups in the UC system. UC Merced is one of the largest employers in

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

, and contributes about $1.7 billion to the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. The university is also one of the most sustainable universities in the country under its Triple Zero Commitment, with every building on campus being environmentally certified. UC Merced is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity", with undergraduate programs ranked 97th overall among U.S. national research universities by '' U.S. News & World Report.''

History

By the 1980s, the San Joaquin Valley was the state's largest and most populous region without a UC campus. On May 19, 1988, the UC Regents voted to begin planning for a campus in the region in response to increasing enrollment and growth constraints at existing UC campuses. In 1989, they authorized UC President

David P. Gardner David Pierpont Gardner (born March 24, 1933) was the 15th president of the University of California and was also the president of the University of Utah. Biography Gardner was born in Berkeley, California, to Reed S. Gardner and Margaret Pierpont ...

to plan up to three new campuses to address these needs. On May 19, 1995, the Regents selected

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

over two other finalist sites in Madera and

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, midway between Fresno and

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

, as the location for the University of California's tenth campus. An important hurdle to the construction of UC Merced happened with the passage of Proposition 203 which for the first time authorized bond funds to be used to construct new buildings in the UC and

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

systems. In 2001, the university used an $11 million grant from the

David and Lucile Packard Foundation The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard (co-founder of HP) and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's death ...

to acquire a 7,030-acre site adjacent to Lake Yosemite, just north of Merced, from the Virginia Smith Trust, the largest acreage the UC system has acquired for one of its campuses. The university originally planned to conserve to protect sensitive

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

habitats but later expanded it to with the creation of the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve which is now part of the

University of California Natural Reserve System The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Co ...

. A public golf course known as the Merced Hills Golf Course had been constructed at the site in the early 1990s. This course was shut down to make way for the new campus when the original site for the campus was made unavailable due to the discovery of

fairy shrimp Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are referred to as fairy shrimp. They live in vernal pools and hypersaline lakes across the world, and they have even been found in deserts, ice-covered mou ...

– an endangered species – on the originally proposed site. Since the construction of the golf course had negated concerns about wetland and vernal pool environmental issues, building the campus at this location was easier than fighting to save the original construction site. UC Merced established a satellite campus in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

in 2001 in its downtown University Square. The satellite campus extended a UC education to prospective college-bound students of

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

and the southern San Joaquin Valley before UC Merced opened its official campus in Merced. Classes and counseling were also provided at the Bakersfield center to newly admitted UC students. In 2011, UC Merced closed its Bakersfield campus in a cost-cutting effort. An administrative building was then planned to be located in downtown Merced. The campus

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

ceremony was held October 25, 2002, and the first day of undergraduate classes was September 6, 2005 with 706 freshmen, 132 transfer students, and 37 graduate students. Three years and eight months later, on May 16, 2009, First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

gave the commencement address for the university's first full graduating class. In 2010, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

made UC Merced its own separate

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

. Later that same year, the new student housing facilities, The Summits, opened to provide two additional residential halls for incoming students. The two four-story buildings, Tenaya Hall and Cathedral Hall, are reserved primarily for incoming freshmen students. Three years later, another housing facility, Half Dome, was built next to the existing Tenaya and Cathedral Halls. Half Dome houses both freshman and continuing students. The university is a

(CDP) that is uninhabited as of both the 2010 and 2020 census. In addition to lacking population the University covers all of it land in this census-designated place. In January 2015, UC Merced was nationally classified with the

Carnegie Classification The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adv ...

for community engagement, along with

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. On November 4, 2015, 18-year-old student Faisal Mohammad stabbed and injured four people with a hunting knife before being shot to death by a campus police officer. In November 2015, the Regents of the University of California approved a $1.14 billion proposal, known as the 2020 Plan, to double the capacity of UC Merced, boosting its enrollment by nearly 4,000 students. The new buildings were completed in early 2021. In April 2019, the school's student government, the Associated Students of UC Merced, cut off funding for UC Merced's only student-run newspaper, ''The Prodigy''. UC Merced claims to be the only institution in the United States whose buildings are all

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certified. Its Triple Net Zero Commitment is expected to create zero net landfill waste and zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020. UC Merced announced a partnership with

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...

and UCSF Fresno to create a brand new medical school program by the year 2023, garnering support from governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

Organization and governance

As with all UC campuses, UC Merced is headed by a

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

. Carol Tomlinson-Keasey held the position from 1999 until she resigned on August 31, 2006. She returned to teaching and research in psychology in 2007 and later died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in 2009. On September 21, 2006, the Regents named Roderic B. Park, a former interim chancellor at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

, as the acting chancellor for UC Merced. Park remained acting chancellor until Sung-Mo (Steve) Kang, Dean of the Baskin School of Engineering at

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

, took office in early March 2007. Kang held the position from 2006 to 2011, when he stepped down so he could return to research and teaching. After a nationwide search, on May 24, 2011, the Regents of the University of California named

Dorothy Leland Dr. Dorothy Leland became the 19th president, and the second female president, of Georgia College & State University on January 1, 2004. She was appointed as the third Chancellor for University of California, Merced, on May 18, 2011, replacing Su ...

, then president of

Georgia College & State University Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GC) is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia. The university enrolls approximately 7,000 students and is a member of the University System of Georgia and the Council ...

, to be the university's newest chancellor. On May 13, 2019, Leland announced that she would be stepping down from her position, effective Aug 15, 2019. UC Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nathan Brostrom served as interim chancellor until July 2020. In July 2020, Juan Sánchez Muñoz, then president of University of Houston-Downtown, ascended to the position of Chancellor. The campus takes advantage of the surrounding environment by investigating issues relating to environmental systems of the Central Valley and

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, and of its youth by having programs in genetic research conducted in state-of-the-art research labs. It also benefits from proximity to

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

and other major universities. Research in fields like language acquisition and cultural issues is facilitated by the highly diverse ethnic makeup of the Central Valley. UC Merced operates on a semester system rather than the quarter system for its

academic term An academic term (or simply term) is a portion of an academic year, the time during which an educational institution holds classes. The schedules adopted vary widely. In most countries, the academic year begins in late summer or early autumn and ...

. The

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

campus is the only other UC campus on a semester system.

Academics

UC Merced has three schools offering 27 undergraduate majors and 25 minors: * School of Engineering * School of Natural Sciences * School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts The Science and Engineering Building 2 opened in 2014. The Classroom and Office Building 2 opened in 2016. The UC Merced Graduate Division offers 18 graduate programs: * Applied Mathematics (M.S., Ph.D.) * Bioengineering (M.S., PhD) * Chemistry and Chemical Biology (M.S., Ph.D.) * Cognitive and Information Sciences (Ph.D.) * Economics (Ph.D.) * Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (M.S., PhD) * Environmental Systems (M.S., Ph.D.) * Interdisciplinary Humanities (M.A., Ph.D.) * Management of Complex Systems (M.S., PhD) * Master of Management Professional Degree (M.M.) * Materials and Biomaterials Science Engineering (M.S., PhD) * Mechanical Engineering (M.S., PhD) * Physics (M.S., PhD) * Political Science, (Ph.D.) * Psychological Sciences (Ph.D.) * Public Health (Ph.D.) * Quantitative and Systems Biology (M.S., PhD) * Sociology (PhD) Graduate degree holders have found work in faculty positions at different colleges and universities, while others have chosen to enter government service. In 2011, the campus was granted accreditation by WASC. In 2014, the School of Engineering received an

ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineering ...

accreditation for the Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering programs. The university is also home to the CCBM Summer Internship Program, an undergraduate

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

ship for non-UC Merced students sponsored by the NSF CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines.

Rankings

UC Merced was tied for 42th "Top Public School" and tied for 97th in the 2022 rankings of "Best National Universities" in the U.S. by '' U.S. News & World Report''. Also in the same rankings, it was ranked 5th in "Top Performers on Social Mobility", 171st in "Best Value Schools", and tied for 123th in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.

Admissions and enrollment

UC Merced received 25,368 undergraduate applications for admission for the Fall 2019 incoming freshman class; 18,263 were admitted (72.0%). Undergraduate enrollment in Fall 2019 was 51.7% women, 47.5% men and 0.8% unknown; approximately 99% were from California. UC Merced saw an increase in application for the 2021 freshman class, they received a record breaking number of applications totaling 30,105 between freshman and transfers. UC Merced also saw an increase in applications for their graduate school program, there was a 25% increase last spring. The application pool consisted of 40% being women and 23% being minority students.

Research institutes

* Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) * Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI) * University of California Advanced Solar Technologies Institute (UC Solar) *NSF CREST Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Machines (CCBM) *Merced nAnomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing (MACES) * Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) In 2007, UC Merced researchers obtained nearly $7 million in funding from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

. Grant funding for research has reached over $168.9 million in 2013.

Campus

The campus is bounded by Lake Yosemite on one side, and two

irrigation canals Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

run through the campus. The campus master plan was developed by

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

, its initial

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

by Arup, and its first buildings were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Thomas Hacker and Associates, and EHDD Architecture. The library and central power plant have been classified as

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Gold structures in terms of their high energy efficiency and low environmental impact. The campus is located about seven miles (11 km) north of downtown Merced in the middle of a cattle ranch. Rather than build on of protected land east of Lake Yosemite, where endangered

hatch in

s, the school has built on a parcel of grazing land south of campus, under a revised layout. The revised plan covers a total of rather than the original proposed in 2000. The new design was expected to impact a total of of native wetlands in the region compared to the forecast in the 2000 footprint.

Kolligian Library

The library was the first building to open on campus. During the Fall 2005 semester, while construction of the Classroom and Science/Engineering buildings was still taking place, all academic courses were conducted in the library. Its official motto is "Not what other research libraries are, what they will be." The library building is named after Leo and Dottie Kolligian. Leo served as the chairman of the UC Board of Regents in 1988 when the board decided to explore building a 10th campus, in the San Joaquin Valley. The first floor of the library was dedicated by Ed and Jeanne Kashian. The McFadden-Willis Reading Room is located on the fourth floor and named in honor of the McFadden and Willis children by Christine McFadden. The library also has a technology classroom dedicated by Doris Gonella in honor of her late husband Louis, The Gonella Discovery Room. The library offers 10 public workstations for students, faculty, staff and visitors to access electronic resources. The library contains more electronic holdings than print holdings, consisting of about 70,000 online journals and 3.965 million electronic books (including 3.15 million

HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

full-text books), compared to 102,000 print books. In addition, the library provides access to 937 databases. Kolligian is a

Green library The Cecil H. Green Library (commonly known as Green Library) is the main library on the Stanford University campus and is part of the SUL system. It is named for Cecil H. Green. Green Library houses 4 million volumes, most of which are relate ...

and has Gold

LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Athletics

The UC Merced athletic teams are called the Golden Bobcats. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

California Pacific Conference The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member ins ...

(Cal Pac) since the 2011–12 academic year. UC Merced competes in eight intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer and volleyball.

Goals

UC Merced hopes to join the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) in the near future. The school's goal is to compete at the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

level as part of the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its current members are public universities, and upon UC ...

(CCAA).

Facilities

On November 13, 2006, the university opened its gymnasium. The

Joseph Edward Gallo Joseph Edward Gallo (September 11, 1919 – February 17, 2007) was an American businessman, brother of Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo, and owner of Joseph Gallo Farms, a producer of cheeses. Biography He was born on September 11, 1919, in Antioch, ...

Recreation and Wellness Center, named after the rancher and dairy farmer who donated money for the facility's construction, features an "NCAA-sized basketball court, workout facilities, room for performances, wellness and fitness education and the Rajender Reddy Student Health Center".

Student life

Approximately 2,100 students currently live on campus in the Valley and Sierra Terraces and the Summits, which includes Tenaya and Cathedral Halls, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) away from the city of

. The most recent addition is Half Dome Hall which completed the UC Merced's first residential square. The Summits includes cleaning services, study lounges, a market, and a game room. Student housing, as well as the dining commons, are closed during winter break. Much of the student life in the Residence Halls is led by the Resident Assistants (RAs) and Lead Resident Assistants (LRAs) through various programs and activities. Due to the

United States housing bubble The 2000s United States housing bubble was a real-estate bubble affecting over half of the U.S. states. It was the impetus for the subprime mortgage crisis. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and reac ...

and the high cost of bond-funded student housing ($13,720 on-campus compared to $7,000 off campus), many students choose to live in new housing subdivisions outside of campus. The Cattracks transit system serves student-dense developments. The university's Campus Activities Board (CAB) engages students in campus-wide activities such as the annual Treats N' Beats, CAB Cinema, Enchanted Ball, and more. Past guests that have been brought to these campus activities by CAB include

Sage the Gemini Dominic Wynn Woods (born June 20, 1992), better known by his stage name Sage the Gemini (), is an American rapper and record producer from Fairfield, California. He is perhaps best known for his 2013 singles "Gas Pedal" (featuring Iamsu!), which ...

J. Holiday Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1981), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US ''Billboar ...

, and

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rec ...

. Additionally, many students visit nearby Lake Yosemite which includes recreational swimming, fishing, and water skiing. Merced has several artistic venues which host plays, concerts, and art shows. These include The Mainzer Theater, The Partisan, Merced Multicultural Arts Center, and Playhouse Merced.

Castle Air Museum Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It ...

is within close driving distance from Merced. Merced is known as the "Gateway to Yosemite" and it is common for students recreational use

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

where they may hike, snowboard, rock climb, and camp overnight. Student publications include ''

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...

'', student newspaper, Bobcat Radio, student radio station, The Undergraduate Research Journal (URJ), The Undergraduate Historical Journal, and literary journals ''The Kumquat'' and ''Imagination Dead Imagine''.
The Vernal Pool
' is a student literary journal for fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and visual art.

CatTracks public transportation system

The university operates its own public transportation system, CatTracks. The system has several routes between the University Transit Center and off-campus housing developments with high student populations. In addition, many routes also serve locations in central Merced, about from campus, including the Merced Amtrak station,

Merced College Merced College is a public community college in Merced, California. History In 1961, the Merced High and Le Grand High School Districts petitioned the State Board of Education for permission to set an election to approve the establishment of a ...

, the Merced Mall, and Merced Transpo, the main hub for Merced County Transit.

Student governments

The founding graduate students, who joined the Graduate School of UC Merced in early 2004, initiated the Graduate Student Association (GSA) in that year, before the university officially opened its doors to undergraduate students in the fall of 2005. The constitution and by-laws were prepared by them. They were then approved by all the graduate students. The undergraduate students of UC Merced have initiated and established their own student government. The Committee on Constitution and By-Laws was established in fall 2005 and was responsible for writing the constitution for the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM). Elections for the ratification of the constitution were held in April, 2006. The constitution was approved by a majority of the student body, officially establishing ASUCM, which serves as the official representative and voice of students.

Clubs

There are approximately 200 student run clubs, including: RadioBio, Bobcat Band, The Prodigy, Bobcat Radio, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Bobcat Model United Nations (MUN), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Sports Shooting, Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), Merced Pre-Law Society, Business Society, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), American Women Making A Difference, Black Student Union (BSU), Lambda Alliance,

Society of Women Engineers The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is an international not-for-profit educational and service organization. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in the United States, the Society of Women Engineers is a major advocate for women in engineering and ...

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

, Math Society,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

American Medical Student Association The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is an independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed national organization.They have a membership ...

, Colleges Against Cancer, Chinese Student Association,

Circle K International Circle K International (CKI) is an international collegiate service organization that is a service leadership program of Kiwanis International. It promotes service, leadership, and fellowship. It has over 13,000 members. Organization Circle ...

, Economics Club, Hermanas Unidas de UCM, Korean American Coalition (KAC), Hmong Student Association (HSA), Nikkei Student Union (NSU), The UC Merced Historical Society, Dance Coalition, Distinguished Ladies, Student Transfer Outreach and Mentor Program, Democrats at UC Merced, HHM (Hip Hop Movement), Society of Freethinkers,

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...

, Martial Arts Club, Microfinance Project Student Association,

Muslim Student Association The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...

, NORML, Persian Student Association of UC Merced (PSAUCM), Pilipino American Alliance (PAA), Anime Club, League of Legends Club at UC Merced (UCMLoL), College Republicans at UC Merced, South Asian Student Association, Merced Indian Graduate Student Association (MIGSA), Taekwondo (TKD),

Rotaract Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 aCharlotte North Rotary Clubin Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and ...

, UCM Symphonics Acapella Group (UCMSA), UNICEF at UC Merced, Best Buddies, Project Smile, rock climbing, Yosemite Leadership Program, bakery clubs, archery clubs, and frisbee golf clubs.

Greek life

; North-American Interfraternity
Conference Fraternities *

Omega Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. (), also known as O-D-Phi is a multicultural fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Its seven founders known as the "Men of Vision" to fraternity members want ...

ΩΔΦ, Alpha Psi chapter ;International Fraternities *

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

ΣΧ, Lambda Delta chapter *

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

ΚΣ, Rho Omicron chapter *

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston i ...

ΠΚΦ, Kappa Mu chapter *

Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...

ΠΛΦ, ;

National Panhellenic Conference The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...

Women's Fraternities and Sororities *

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan Breed, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Tri Delta part ...

ΔΔΔ, Epsilon Kappa chapter *

Delta Gamma Delta Gamma (), commonly known as DG, is a women's fraternity in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members. It has 150 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. The organization's executive office is in Columbus ...

ΔΓ, Eta Rho chapter *

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

ΚΚΓ, Eta Xi chapter *

Phi Mu Phi Mu () is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. The fraternity was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia as the Philomathean Society on , and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same ye ...

ΦΜ, Eta Sigma chapter ; Latina-Based Sororities *

Lambda Theta Nu Lambda Theta Nu () is a Latina-based Greek letter intercollegiate sorority founded in 1986 at California State University, Chico. History Formation Eighteen Latina students at California State University, Chico banded together during what t ...

ΛΘΝ, Alpha Pi chapter *

Kappa Delta Chi Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. (), also known as K-D Chi (pronounced Kay-Dee-Kie) is a Greek letter, intercollegiate Latina founded sorority in the United States. KDChi is a 501(c)(7) organization that prides itself on graduating all of its memb ...

ΚΔΧ, Beta Lambda chapter ; Mult-Cultural Sororities *

Sigma Theta Psi Sigma Theta Psi () is a multicultural, academic, and social sorority. The sorority was founded at San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1991. Sigma Theta Psi is known for their significant contribution to breast cancer awareness throughout sisters' l ...

ΣΘΨ ;Professional Co-ed Fraternities *

Delta Epsilon Mu Delta Epsilon Mu, Incorporated () is a co-ed fraternity in the United States for students and professionals in clinical or applied practice with interests or focus in pre-health or health-related fields. It has active chapters in New York, Cal ...

ΔΕΜ, Theta chapter *

Phi Delta Epsilon Phi Delta Epsilon () (commonly known as PhiDE) is a co-ed international medical fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. History Phi Delta Epsilon was founded on October 13, 1904, at Cornell University Medical College. ...

ΦΔΕ, CA Lambda Premedical chapter *

Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business fraternity to current date. Also known as "AKPsi", the fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904, at New York University and was incorporated on May 20, 1905. It is cu ...

ΑΚΨ, Psi Upsilon chapter *

Theta Tau Theta Tau () is a professional engineering fraternity. The fraternity has programs to promote the social, academic, and professional development of its members. Today, Theta Tau is the oldest and largest professional engineering fraternity and h ...

ΘΤ, Mu Delta chapter *

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...

ΑΦΩ, Alpha Eta Gamma chapter *

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

ΦΑΔ *

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the School ...

ΔΣΠ, Tau Chi Chapter

Alumni

The UC Merced Alumni Association (UCMAA) consists of more than 16,000 living members. The UC Merced Alumni Association is a non-dues organization. UCMAA membership is granted upon successful attainment of a UC Merced undergraduate or graduate degree. The association is led by a volunteer board of directors, which is staffed by the UC Merced Office of Alumni Relations. As stated by the LA Times, "Although most UC Merced alumni are still in their 20s, 11% of them contributed to their alma mater — outstripping the giving rate of all other UC campuses except UC Santa Barbara (16%) and UC Berkeley (12%). UCLA's rate was 8%, and UC Riverside, the most comparable campus, was 4%."

Notes

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:California, Merced, University Of

Educational institutions established in 2005 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges

University of California, Merced The University of California, Merced (UC Merced) is a public land-grant research university and Hispanic-serving institution located in Merced, California, and is the tenth and newest of the University of California (UC) campuses. Established ...

2005 establishments in California Census-designated places in California

Universities established in the 2000s