UC Merced Magazine | Volume XIX, Issue V

T he signs of UC Merced's robust growth are springing up everywhere and they are extremely exciting to see. One of the examples I nd the most encouraging is that more students are making this campus their choice for a UC education. e university saw a

double-digit rise in the number of applications this year — nearly 33,000 prospective rst-year and transfer students applied to UC Merced for the fall 2024 semester, a 12% increase from last year’s applicant pool. e number of rst-year applicants rose by 14% over last year, out-of-state applicants increased by 21% and the number of international applications surged 58% over last year. Across the University of California system, UC Merced received the highest percentage of rst-year applications from rst-generation students (53%) and students from underrepresented groups (53%) — particularly Hispanic applicants, who made up 46% of UC Merced’s prospective student body, also a systemwide high. We are still less than 20 years old, yet we are a top-30 public university and among the highest ranked for creating social and economic mobility for our students. It is no surprise that more young scholars and their families see their paths to brighter futures running through our campus. In this issue, you can read more about one of the other signs of our vigorous growth — new construction plans and new facilities, including our Medical Education Building, the opening of our biosafety level-3 laboratory, where we can advance knowledge about infectious diseases such as Valley fever, the Merced Promise Housing for community college and transfer students, the Classroom and O ce Building 3, and the new Field Education and Research Center near the entrance to the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve. e Field Education and Research Center will be in place this fall and will provide a place for researchers and students to stage their projects and an unprecedented opportunity for visitors from the community — including thousands of schoolchildren — to gather, view and learn about the amazing nature reserve adjacent to our campus. I want to thank everyone in the community and, indeed, the region for joining our journey of growth and transformation. Fiat Lux, Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Ph.D. Chancellor Chancellor Muñoz welcomes crowds to Bobcat Day, the annual campus open house at which prospective students and their families visit and tour UC Merced, meet students, faculty and staff and decide whether they want to be Bobcats, too.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHANCELLOR

UC MERCED MAGAZINE // ucmerced.edu