For many first-generation Mexican American college graduates, the definition of success includes paying their parents’ bills or even buying them a home.
Lifting the social or financial status of their elders is a goal that often defines upward mobility for Latinx millennials, especially the children of immigrants, according to a study by UC Merced sociology Professor Daisy Verduzco Reyes.
UC Merced remains one of the top universities in the nation according to Money’s 2025 “Best Colleges in America” report.
The university earned 4.5 stars out of 5 in Money’s latest poll, which scores over 700 schools. The ratings are based on several factors, including graduation rates, cost of attendance, instructor access and economic mobility.
A group of dedicated UC Merced alumni have come together to launch an endowed fund focused on supporting LGBTQ+ student initiatives, programs and priorities.
Spearheaded by University of California Regent Emeritus Keith Ellis ’12, the LGBTQ+ Lambda Student Engagement Endowment was created to foster a more inclusive and affirming environment for students from diverse sexual and gender identities, now and for generations to come.
This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2025 semester.
Trinity King is coming to UC Merced with dreams of shining both as a performer and in the health care world. She’s excited to blend her love for dance with her academic journey as a public health major, believing that both experiences at UC Merced will bring her closer to her goals.
Where I come from: I’m from Hayward. I attended Mount Eden High School.
San Luis Reservoir in Merced County - one of California's largest artificial lakes - not only irrigates Central Valley farmland and supplies drinking water across Silicon Valley and the South Bay, but also draws swimmers, boaters and anglers year-round.
Yet for months at a time, forest-green blankets of algae spread across the lake's surface. Despite their calm appearance, these harmful algal blooms, or HABs, can disrupt water supplies, ecosystems and recreation activities - and pose serious health risks.
UC Merced students, faculty and staff have access to a new safety tool: the Bobcat Safety App — the university's official safety app — launched by the UC Merced Police Department ahead of the new academic year.
The app integrates with UC Merced's safety and security systems. After downloading it to their mobile devices, students, staff and faculty will have access to essential campus safety resources and communication tools.
Growing up in Watsonville, a vibrant agricultural community on California's Central Coast, Adamaris Alvarez always knew she wanted to work in agriculture. She worked on her family's berry ranch, Alvarez Farms, where she grew a deep appreciation for the hard work agriculture demands.
But it wasn't until she saw an Instagram post about an internship at UC Merced's Experimental Smart Farm that she realized she could help shape the future of farming.
Mass deportation of California's undocumented residents would open a $275 billion hole in the state's economy, cripple industries ranging from agriculture to hospitality, disrupt countless small businesses, and lead to $23 billion a year in lost tax revenue.
UC Merced’s graduating Class of 2025 recently celebrated its achievement at the campus’s spring commencement, joined by family members, close friends and loved ones.
For two graduates, Jahaira Morales and Bryan Gutierrez, the ceremony also was an opportunity to meet with a couple of other individuals who have been invested in their higher-education journey at UC Merced – their scholarship benefactors, Dar Chen and Cheryl Matsubara.
Mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro has turned a penchant for systems-level thinking and a longtime love of cars into a climate-resilient research mission.
