News

Ready, Set, Slam: 10 UC Merced Scholars Battle for Champion Title

March 9, 2026

Ten UC Merced graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers. Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s three schools are invited to participate in Grad Slam — a fast‑paced competition that challenges scholars to distill...

Empathy is the Central Theme of Todo Cambia Film Festival

February 25, 2026

em·pa·thy (noun): the ability to recognize, understand and share the thoughts, emotions and perspectives of another person. It is a means of connection, a path to understanding. Can you see where I’m coming from? Walk a mile in my shoes. Empathy is the keyword for the 2026 Todo Cambia Human Rights...

Former Gov. Gray Davis Awarded Chancellor’s Medal for Transformative Leadership in Bringing UC Merced to the Central Valley

February 24, 2026

At an intimate gathering of supporters, UC Merced awarded former Gov. Gray Davis the Chancellor’s Medal — the university’s highest honor — in recognition of his instrumental role in bringing the 10th University of California campus to Merced. The medal was presented recently during a special...

UC Merced Students Invited to Tackle Real-World AI Challenges in 2026 Data Science Program

February 23, 2026

Applications are open for the 2026 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Data Science Challenge, a two-week summer internship that gives students a firsthand look at national lab research through high‑impact, data‑driven problem solving. “I want our students to see themselves in these different...

UC Berkeley Exhibit Marks 20 Years of UC Merced’s Design Vision

February 10, 2026

From open farmland in California’s Central Valley to a global model for sustainable design, UC Merced’s architectural story is currently on view as part of a special exhibit at UC Berkeley’s Bauer Wurster Hall. Located in one of Berkeley’s most iconic Brutalist buildings and the home of the College...

Merced Trio to Share Knowledge, Visions as UC Merced Artists-in-Residence

February 5, 2026

Three Merced painters, united in friendship and in their steadfast determination not to compromise their creative values, are serving as UC Merced’s first locally based artists-in-residence. The brushes of Ruben Aguilera Sanchez, Frank Ayala and Abel Corchado create surreal scenes of fieldhands and...

UC Merced Recognized on Newsweek’s Inaugural ‘America’s Best Colleges for Women’ List

February 4, 2026

UC Merced has been recognized on Newsweek’s inaugural America’s Best Colleges for Women 2026 list, a national ranking designed to spotlight institutions that support, advance and elevate women across campus and beyond. Newsweek developed the new report in partnership with Gender Fair, an...

Leadership in STEM: Abigail Gyamfi Honored with 2025 ACS Leader Scholars Award

February 4, 2026

Chemistry and Biochemistry (CBC) Ph.D. candidate Abigail Gyamfi has earned the 2025 American Chemical Society Leader Scholars Award. The ACS Leader Scholars program recognizes outstanding undergraduate students, graduate students and early-career scientists. “I am profoundly grateful to the...

Unlocking the Secrets of Tiny, Living Clocks Could Revolutionize Science

February 2, 2026

Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang has spent much of his career studying how life keeps time. His work on the circadian clock of cyanobacteria — tiny, ancient organisms that share the planet with us — has shed light on one of biology’s most elegant systems. But his newest research project,...

UC Merced Injects Over $1 Billion in Economic Vitality into San Joaquin Valley, State

January 20, 2026

UC Merced, a beacon of academic achievement in the San Joaquin Valley, is also a powerful driver of economic growth and prosperity in the region it was created to serve. UC Merced generates $1.12 billion in economic production per year in the Valley, according to an independent analysis...