UC Merced | Graduate Division
Admitted Graduate Student Guide
Welcome to UC Merced
Congratulations on your admission to UC Merced. We are excited to welcome you to our graduate student community!
The next step in the admission process is to officially accept your offer and submit your statement of intent to register (SIR). In order to guarantee any funding offers extended by your graduate program, please submit your SIR by the April 15, 2024 deadline.
Scroll through the pages below for additional information for admitted students.
Go Bobcats!
Dr. Hrant Hratchian
Vice Provost and Graduate Dean
Next Steps | New Student Checklist
Complete the following items:
3
1
Send any outstanding documents such as official test scores or official copies of transcripts to the Graduate Division. To view outstanding documents on your application checklist, log in to the application portal.
If you have questions related to outstanding documents contact the Graduate Admissions team.
2
Claim your UCMNetID. Your UCMNetID is the account name associated with you and the first part of your UC Merced email address. To claim your ID, enter the email address or phone number used to create your graduate application. Once you have obtained your UCMNetID, you will need to Enroll in 2-Factor Authentication. You will need your claimed UCMNetID and password to enroll.
Log in to UC Merced Connect and click on My Merced. UC Merced Connect is a one-stop shop for campus services and information relevant to the UC Merced community. In UC Merced Connect, you will find additional action items to be completed before arriving to campus and finalizing your matriculation.
Registering for classes is an important step toward preparing for your arrival at UC Merced. We encourage you to get in touch with your faculty advisor or graduate program staff for information on which courses you should register for.
Graduate Program Staff Contact Information:
School of Engineering: soe-grstaff@ucmerced.edu
School of Natural Sciences: snsgrads@ucmerced.edu
School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Arts: ssha.grad@ucmerced.edu
Once you have determined which classes you should register for, go to the student portal on the UC Merced Connect platform to register for classes. You can follow the directions in the video but please select "graduate student" under the student profile section when registering.
Note: Fall 2024 class registration will open in mid-April.
Next Steps | Planning for
California Residency
Applicable only to out-of-state (domestic) students.
For tuition purposes, all out-of-state (domestic) students will need to establish California residency. Review the information on this webpage, "How to Change your Non-resident Status to Resident" to ensure that you will meet the requirements by the end of your first year.
After living in California for 366 days, you can formally apply for a status change. The primary causes for denial of residency are student delay in obtaining a California driver’s license or ID and utilizing a non-California address when filing your tax return.
We encourage you to start planning now and begin gathering documents for this process and also obtain your California Driver’s License or ID.
For additional information on UC policy, please refer to the UC Residence Policy and Guidelines.
Important Dates & Deadlines
APRIL 15
Deadline to submit your statement of intent to register (SIR) via the application portal.
August 1
Deadline to waive UC SHIP health insurance. Note: you are automatically enrolled in UC SHIP upon admission. Coverage begins on 8/15/24. Learn more here.
AUGUST 15 - 22
Grauate Orientation Week is a mandatory week-long training. All newly admitted graduate students must attend in-person. Learn more here.
International Student Resources
Information and resources for newly admitted international graduate students can be found on the Office of International Affairs website.
Additional International Student Resources
DACA, AB540 or Undocumented Student Resources
Resources for DACA, AB540, or Undocumented Students can be found on the Services for Undocumented Students webpage.
Click here to watch current undocumented UC Merced graduate students discuss their campus experience and journey to grad school.
Explore Merced
Life at UC Merced. What Should You Expect?
Besides being a world-class public research university with the feel of a small, private campus, there are a lot of reasons why people are increasingly interested in becoming a Bobcat. UC Merced is a special place where intelligent, spirited people gather to learn, grow and reach their highest potential.
Just be prepared: Your friends and family are going to ask where Merced is. Tell them: Merced is in the middle of everything!
Our campus is located in the center of California’s agricultural Central Valley. Merced is your quintessential small town, with a tree-lined downtown filled with mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, and a theater, but with amenities that a larger town might have, such as a mall and larger eateries.
Merced is also centrally located, which means that if you schedule a route north, south, east, or west in your map app, you’ll run into a city or attraction that’s easy to get to. Our pastoral setting allows our students to focus on their research, while our proximity to all of Northern California's major destinations encourages our students to get out and explore during much-deserved downtime.
Explore Merced | Beyond Campus
7 Destinations within 2 Hours of UC Merced
- Yosemite National Park. There’s a reason why Yosemite is considered one of the wonders of the world. UC Merced students regularly take advantage of the fact that being one with nature is only a short drive away.
- San Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (but take a picture of it first). Diverse neighborhoods. Giants games. Alcatraz.
- Santa Cruz. Dozens of beaches by day, boardwalk arcades, and rides by night. A movie on the beach or monarch butterfly sightings if you time your trip right.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row. Stunning marine life up close, rocks on the shore to climb afterward, and a famous waterfront street to wander once your shoes and socks are soaked.
- Dodge Ridge and China Peak. Skiing and snowboarding. (Hot cocoa in the lodge is okay, too!)
- Sacramento. State capitol tours. Gold Rush-era buildings, restaurants, and museums in historic Old Sacramento.
- Gold Country. Quaint and thriving downtowns in Columbia, Jamestown, Murphys, Sutter Creek, and more. Gold panning and live re-enactments for your history fix.
Explore Merced | Housing & Transportation
You will find that UC Merced offers the lowest cost of living compared to any of the other University of California campuses. This low cost of living ensures that our students can worry less about paying rent and instead focus on what really matters- their research! We encourage you to visit UC Merced's Housing website and Off-Campus Housing site to learn more about housing options.
Our campus also offers a bus system exclusively for UC Merced students. The CatTracks system connects our campus to the rest of Merced. For trips outside of Merced, Amtrak and Advanced Airlines are great low-rate options for getting around the state quickly.
Additional Off-Campus Housing Resources
- The UC Merced Off-Campus Housing Website
- List of Merced, CA property management companies
- UC Merced Classified Facebook Page (not maintained by the university)
- Merced Social Graduate Students (not maintained by the university)
- UC Merced Students: Off-Campus Housing (not maintained by the university)
stay in touch!
graduate admissions department
grad@ucmerced.edu
graduate Fundiing department
gradfunding@ucmerced.edu
Graduate Resources Department
gradresources@ucmerced.edu
let's connect!
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