News

New Study Urges Earlier Detection of Valley Fever as Cases Climb

June 3, 2026
Key Points: Valley fever is widely underdiagnosed and often mistaken for common respiratory illnesses, leading to delayed diagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic use. Cases are rising and spreading geographically, driven by climate patterns, soil disruption and population growth, making the...

Sociology Ph.D. Student Receives Prestigious Dissertation Fellowship

June 3, 2026
Jarrod L. Brown Jr. is the first UC Merced graduate student to be awarded the National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation fellowship, supporting his doctoral research in structural inequality in higher education. The sociology Ph.D. candidate, who is one of 35 recipients selected from nearly...

From Wild Mushrooms to Punchlines, Bobcats Learn in Out-of-the-Box Ways

May 26, 2026
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Walk across UC Merced’s campus on any weekday, and you might hear laughter spilling from a classroom, feel the thrum of a wind tunnel or spot students crouched in a field searching for mushrooms. Not...

SSHA Undergraduates Honored for Sparkling Academic Careers

May 20, 2026
UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts honors 13 undergraduates for outstanding academic careers. Dean Leo Arriola said the honorees made their mark with significant research activities, exemplary leadership and notable service to UC Merced and the community. Each...

New Business Administration, Accounting Majors Address High Demand

May 19, 2026
A new UC Merced major arrived just in time for Tyrese Francis. When the student starts his third year at the university this fall, he will dive into coursework for a degree in business administration, one of two degrees debuting in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. “I’ve always...

Degrees, Cheers and a Record Number of Graduates Under the Open Sky

May 13, 2026
UC Merced is abuzz with celebration as students, families, friends, staff and faculty finish last-minute preparations for the largest commencement in university history. Across three outdoor ceremonies, 1,649 undergraduates and 112 graduate students will walk the stage at Spring Commencement 2026,...

Five UC Merced Faculty Members Earn Early Career Research Awards

May 12, 2026
Five UC Merced faculty members are among the first awardees of a UC-wide honor given for exemplary research in budding academic careers. The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards, launched last fall, support commitment to scholarship and creative activity across the 10-campus system. The...

Exhibit Traces the Heartbeat of Merced Through Sound

May 12, 2026
On a spring day in Merced’s Applegate Park, the man sat in front of a camera, spinning memories. He described decades of Latin music and dance pulsing in the city, moments drawn from eight decades of life and stories told by aunts and uncles. His two interviewers took notes and checked the...

UC Merced Alumni to Take the Stage as Commencement Speakers

May 11, 2026
UC Merced will celebrate the Class of 2026 with three inspiring alumni returning to campus as keynote speakers for commencement ceremonies May 15-17. Emily Reed, ’07, ’13, a tenured biology professor at Merced College, will share her story with more than 100 master’s and doctoral degree candidates...

Prison Documentary by UC Merced’s Sharim Awarded at Phoenix Film Festival

May 8, 2026
A documentary by a UC Merced professor that enters the bleak world of a fading, elderly man in a Virginia state prison received one of the top honors at the Phoenix Film Festival. Media and performance studies Professor Yehuda Sharim directed “Where’s My Coffee Cup?” – directed by media and...

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