Alyssa Johansen

UC Merced is welcoming the largest class in university history this fall, as record numbers of first-year and transfer students propel total enrollment to an all-time high of 9,647 students. 

The university’s enrollment grew by 704 students, a nearly 8% increase from last fall. This surpasses the previous record of 9,148, set in Fall 2023. 

Even more striking is the growth among new students. UC Merced welcomed 3,157 new students this fall — an increase of 748 students, or 31%, from last year’s 2,409. The previous record for new students was 2,678, set in Fall 2021. 

Fueled by a $38 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott — her second to UC Merced and the largest single philanthropic gift in the university's history — and the sustained generosity of the Bobcat community, 2025-26 was UC Merced's strongest fundraising year on record. 

The campus raised more than $68 million during the fiscal year, pushing Boldly Forward: The Campaign for UC Merced to nearly $180 million. The milestone nearly doubled the prior fundraising record of $36 million, set in 2022-23. 

Five faculty members in the UC Merced School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts have been appointed to endowed chairs, recognizing their scholarship and contributions to research that serve underrepresented communities, advance human rights and shape the future of communications.

"These works are a tribute to nature, to culture, and to time itself." 

That's how UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz described "Four Seasons of Yosemite" during a reception at the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library, where campus leaders and community members, donors and the artist himself gathered to celebrate the university's milestone acquisition of the four monumental stained-glass murals. 

UC Merced researchers are launching a project that could change how Central Valley growers harness the sun’s energy, using a family of light-active molecules developed at the university to design smarter agricultural greenhouses.

For the second year, UC Merced has partnered with the Campos Foundation to host the Campos ENgage Engineering Summer Bridge Academy, a weeklong summer program aimed at supporting underrepresented minority and female students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). 

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester.

Driven by a passion for animal care, incoming biological sciences major student Esperanza Garcia is already well on her way toward a future in veterinary medicine.

This is part of a series of profiles of new UC Merced Bobcats enrolled for the fall 2026 semester.

Incoming UC Merced student Shrihan Lakinana is bringing a growth mindset, a passion for engineering and a deep appreciation for community to the Bobcat experience.

Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine.