University of California, Merced

The University of California, Merced (UC Merced), located in the San Joaquin Valley at Merced, California (), is the tenth University of California campus. The campus groundbreaking ceremony was held October 25, 2002, and the first day of classes was September 6, 2005. UC Merced is the first American research university built in the 21st century.

Organization and Governance

UC Merced is headed by a Chancellor. The position has been held by Carol Tomlinson-Keasey since 1999. She will resign as Chancellor on August 31, 2006, and plans to return to teaching and research in psychology in 2007. ^*

Although UC Merced is located in a rural area associated with agriculture, it emphasizes cutting edge interdisciplinary research grounded in natural science, math, and engineering. The campus takes advantage of the surrounding environment by investigating issues relating to environmental systems of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, and of its youth by having programs in genetic research conducted in state of the art research labs. It also benefits from proximity to Silicon Valley and other major universities.

Merced operates on a semester basis rather than the quarter system for its academic term. The Berkeley campus is the only other UC campus on a semester system.

Academics

It has three schools:

Some classes are taught via remote broadcast from other UC campuses.

The undergraduate majors that are offered include:

Applied Mathematical Sciences
Bioengineering
Biological Sciences (Fall 2006)
Chemical Sciences (Fall 2006)
Computer Science and Engineering
Earth System Science
Environmental Engineering
Human Biology
Management
Material Sciences and Engineering (Fall 2006)
Mechanical Engineering (Fall 2006)
Physics (Fall 2006)
Social and Cognitive Sciences (emphasis in cognitive science, economics, psychology, or public policy)
World Cultures and History (emphasis in history or literature)

The undergraduate minors that are offered include:

American Studies
Arts
Cognitive Science
Economics
History
Philosophy
Psychology
Services Science
Spanish
Writing

The Graduate Programs that are offered include:

Quantitative and Systems Biology
Environmental Systems
Atomic and Molecular Science and Engineering
World Cultures and History
Social and Cognitive Sciences
Computer and Information Systems
Applied Mathematics

Research Institutes

The Sierra Nevada Research Institute
The World Cultures Institute

Planned Institutes

MERI (Merced Energy Research Institute)
The Systems Biology Institute

Campus Layout

The campus is bounded by Lake Yosemite on one side and two canals run through the campus. The buildings will be grouped into "neighborhoods" by academic discipline, much in the manner of the Irvine campus. The campus master plan, as well as its first buildings, were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Athletics

Unlike other UC campuses, UC Merced does not have any official varsity athletic teams. However, it does have intramural sports .

Student life

About 600 students currently live on campus in the Valley Terraces housing area, 4.2 miles away from the city of Merced. The campus dining area offers a variety of ethnic foods including Asian, Mexican, and Italian. The on-campus housing system does not have kitchens for student use. The dining commons are closed during Thanksgiving weekend, Spring Break, Veterans' Day, President's Day, and Cesar Chavez day.

The campus diversity in its first year: 37% Asian American, 25% Latino, 25% Caucasian, 6% African American, and 0.7% Native American. The remaining students declined to specify their ethnicity.

The campus is not as established as other UC schools, and the city is not yet active as a college town. Many students find a short trip to the city of Fresno worthwile for increased entertainment options (or a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area), as choices are very limited in the immediate Merced area. The university attempts to engage students in on-campus activities like dances and movie nights. Many students go to Lake Yosemite which is 50 yards away from the main campus. Students can walk, jog, picnic, barbeque, and swim at the lake. Merced has several artistic venues which host plays, concerts, and art shows. They include the Mainzer Theater, Merced Multicultural Arts Center, and Playhouse Merced. Castle Air Museum is within close driving distance from Merced. Merced is known as the "Gateway to Yosemite" and it is common for students to take day trips to Yosemite where they can hike, rock climb, and camp overnight.

Student publications include "The Prodigy" newspaper as well as the unofficial release "The Fury Shrimp Times".

Student Government

The students of UC Merced have recently inititated and established their first student government. The Committee on Constitution and By-Laws was established in fall 2005 and was responsible for writing the constitution for the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM).

Elections for the ratification of the constitution were held in April, 2006. The constitution was approved by a majority of the student body, officially establishing ASUCM, which serves as the official representative and voice of students at UC Merced.

For more information about the student government, visit http://www.asucm.org/.