Merced, CA · Public

At a glance

90.5%

Acceptance rate

$12,744

Avg net price

8,372

Enrollment

Degrees awarded

2024-25

	Bachelor’s	Master’s	Doctoral
All fields, 2024-25Bachelor’s 1,682Master’s 110Doctoral 130	1,682	110	130
Bachelor’s 385Master’s 26Doctoral 30	385	26	30
Bachelor’s 325Master’s 6Doctoral 8	325	6	8
Bachelor’s 280Master’s 31Doctoral 21	280	31	21
Bachelor’s 191Master’s 5Doctoral 4	191	5	4
Bachelor’s 181Master’s 7Doctoral 8	181	7	8
Bachelor’s 101Master’s 0Doctoral 10	101	0	10
Bachelor’s 63Master’s 12Doctoral 18	63	12	18
Bachelor’s 57Master’s 7Doctoral 2	57	7	2
Bachelor’s 28Master’s 5Doctoral 8	28	5	8
Bachelor’s 19Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	19	None reported	None reported
Bachelor’s 17Master’s 0Doctoral 0	17	0	0
Bachelor’s 13Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	13	None reported	None reported
Bachelor’s 7Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	7	None reported	None reported
Bachelor’s 7Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	7	None reported	None reported
Bachelor’s 7Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	7	None reported	None reported
Bachelor’s 1Master’s 2Doctoral 14	1	2	14
Bachelor’s None reportedMaster’s 9Doctoral 7	None reported	9	7

College athletics

NCAA program details

NCAA program

University of California, Merced

Primary division: Division II
Primary conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association

Projected sponsored sports12

Men's BasketballMen's Cross CountryMen's SoccerMen's Track, OutdoorMen's VolleyballMen's Water PoloWomen's BasketballWomen's Cross Country

Athletic participation

210 unique student-athletes · 12 varsity teams

Application deadlines

For fall 2027 entry

Fall 2027 UC application

Nov 30, 2026

· Apply with the UC application

Cost

Published on-campus price, 2024–25

Tuition: $13,146
Required fees: $2,477
Food and housing: $21,445
Books and supplies: $1,046
Other expenses: $5,852
Total: $43,966

Total by year

$35,9732019–2019–20
$36,7002020–2120–21
$38,2342021–2221–22
$38,9072022–2322–23
$40,6852023–2423–24
$43,9662024–2524–25

Net price by family income, 2022–23

Students of all incomes paid $12,744 on average. Grants and scholarships covered the rest of the cost.

Net price covers first-time, full-time students who received federal aid and paid in-state tuition.

Need-based aid, 2023–24

First-years with need-based aid: 83%
Average share of need met: 87%
Average need-based grant: $29,609
Required forms: FAFSA, CSS Profile, and State aid form

Graduation and Retention

4-year graduation49%

6-year graduation69%

Retention rate83%

Earnings and Debt

Median earnings (10yr)$64,368

Median debt$16,144

Campus

Enrollment8,372

Student-faculty ratio21:1

SettingSuburb

HSI

Sources

IPEDS Institutional Characteristics · National Center for Education Statistics · 2025–26
IPEDS Admissions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03
Application process · College websites · 2026–27
NCAA Projected Sports Sponsorship by School · National Collegiate Athletic Association · 2025–26
Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act · U.S. Department of Education · 2024–25
Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
IPEDS Completions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
IPEDS Student Charges · National Center for Education Statistics · 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

Every figure below is read directly from University of California-Merced’s own reported data, with no scores, ratings, or estimates added. Derived from 4 Common Data Set filings (2021–22 to 2024–25).

University of California-Merced admitted of applicants, a admit rate. Of those, enrolled, a yield, across 4 years of Common Data Set filings.

Applicant funnel and admit rateHover or arrow-key a year for exact values

Students and applicationsAdmit rate

ApplicationsAdmittedEnrolledAdmit rate

No early admission plans appear in University of California-Merced's Common Data Set filing.

Regular Decision nonbindingApply by Nov 30

The enrolled class is roughly international. University of California-Merced admits in-state applicants at 93.3% and out-of-state applicants at 85%.

Enrolled first-years by geography

2,097 first-years

Domestic≈2,010International≈87

Admit odds by pool

Of enrolled first-years, submitted an SAT and an ACT.

Some students submit both an SAT and an ACT, so the two shares overlap. They don’t add up to a single “submitted a test” rate.

SAT composite

8% of the class submitted an SAT

Middle 50%

Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands

ACT composite

2% of the class submitted an ACT

Middle 50%

Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands

University of California-Merced’s enrolled first-years averaged a high-school GPA, among the 1% who submitted one.

High-school GPA

shares of all enrolled first-years

Average 3.57

University of California-Merced rates 3 factors "very important." Each column reads strongest first.

Academic

Rigor of secondary school record: Very important
Academic GPA: Very important
Application essay: Very important
Recommendation(s): Considered
Class rank: Not considered
Standardized test scores: Not considered

Nonacademic

Extracurricular activities: Important
Talent / ability: Important
Character / personal qualities: Considered
First generation: Considered
Geographical residence: Considered
State residency: Considered
Volunteer work: Considered
Work experience: Considered
Interview: Not considered
Alumni/ae relation: Not considered
Religious affiliation/commitment: Not considered
Level of applicant's interest: Not considered

University of California-Merced leaves 3 Common Data Set answers blank — each one hidden below with what it would tell you.

Class-rank distributionCDS C10Not disclosed

Without the rank spread of enrolled students, there’s no top-of-class signal to place a transcript against.

GPA distributionCDS C11Not disclosed

Without the GPA spread, a family can’t see where their transcript lands within the class.

Waitlist offers & acceptancesCDS C2Not disclosed

With the pool size hidden, a student’s odds of clearing the waitlist can’t be computed.

Does disclose: Admissions factor grid (C7)

University of California-Merced's net price after grant aid, by family income. of first-years received need-based aid. The school meets of demonstrated need, split into .

What aid recipients pay, by income

net price

Each figure averages only families who received federal aid in that income band (College Scorecard); $12,744 across all aid recipients. Aid share: 1,981 of 2,400 first-years in the 2023–24 Common Data Set.

How need-based aid is determined

Cost of attendance − expected family contribution = demonstrated need

Forms a family files to be considered

FAFSACSS ProfileState aid form

Merit aid reached of the class, or of enrolled first-years. For international applicants, University of California-Merced offers both need-based and merit aid: nonresidents received aid, averaging .

Waitlist activity, as reported to the Common Data Set.

Offered a place

Not disclosed

Accepted a place

Not disclosed

Admitted off waitlist

Not disclosed

Waitlist ranked

Not disclosed

83.1% of University of California-Merced’s first-years return for a second year and 69.2% graduate within six. Median earnings ten years out are against of median federal debt, roughly a earnings-to-debt ratio.

Sources

Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03

University of California-MercedView names for University of California-Merced

NCAA program details

University of California, Merced

Projected sponsored sports12

Athletic participation

Published on-campus price, 2024–25

Net price by family income, 2022–23

Need-based aid, 2023–24

Sources

Sources