A highly customizable degree that rewards curiosity, reaches out to a diverse set of learners and prepares scholars for people-centered careers has arrived at UC Merced.
Liberal studies, a bachelor’s program that taps into disciplines in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, debuts in the fall 2026 semester. Students can parlay the degree’s flexibility with core UC Merced attributes such as undergraduate research and easy access to professors and advisers.
A liberal studies program has qualities for a range of scholars, but is particularly attractive for students:
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Transferring coursework from a community college
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Resuming an academic career that life had put on hold
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Preparing for a career teaching elementary or middle-school children
Catherine Koehler led the effort to add liberal studies to SSHA’s degrees. She said the major grew out of the university’s Degree Completion Program, which she leads as executive director.
“We expect it to serve a lot of different students, including those who are looking for efficient pathways back to the university to finish their degrees,” said Koehler, who is also a teaching professor of writing studies.
Flexibility is the key advantage. Transfer students and those returning to college after a long break often have a patchwork of credits, sometimes from different institutions. Liberal studies can accept a wide range of prior coursework, creating a faster path to graduation.
In addition, transfers or returning students who haven’t set a career direction can explore across disciplines in the social and natural sciences without having to switch majors and lose time.
The degree joins initiatives that invite students to continue their higher education at UC Merced. The university offers transfer students streamlined paths into dozens of disciplines. It has agreements with several California community colleges to accept qualified transfers. On campus, the Promise Housing project will provide apartments for hundreds of transfers from Merced College.
Koehler said the degree’s goals of broadening paths to four-year diplomas and preparing people for teaching careers fit UC Merced’s mission for the Central Valley.
“We were founded to expand access to a UC education for students in the Valley, and that includes adult learners who are trying to return to campus,” Koehler said. “We want to create economic mobility through degree completion and career readiness.”
The coursework is customized to a student’s needs and interests, drawing from disciplines ranging from economics and history to cognitive science. Koehler will teach two bookend courses: an introduction to liberal studies and a “capstone” course that pulls together everything the student has learned.
Students who aspire to be teachers can use liberal studies to pave a smooth career path. Broad, interdisciplinary coursework satisfies requirements for a multiple-subject credential, good for teaching kindergarten through eighth grade. Graduates can waive the California exam usually required to earn the credential, saving time and money.
The degree works alongside CalTeach, a program that trains future educators with an on-campus learning lab and experiences with young students at Valley schools. The university’s numerous research opportunities, along with annual events such as the Bobcat Summer STEM Academy, help students expand and fine-tune their teaching skills.
“We have a big need in the Valley for early childhood and elementary educators,” Koehler said.
Nancy Myrick recently resumed her academic journey after years of focusing on parenthood. She lives in Merced, attends Merced College and wants to become a teacher. Myrick attended a recent UC Merced event for transfer students and talked to SSHA faculty and CalTeach representatives.
She has been accepted to UC Merced and just needs some financial aid assurance before she enrolls.
“I was really impressed by what I heard,” Myrick said. “Since I’m a Merced native, I would be proud to graduate from my hometown.”
