friends become family

life on campus

When you ask UC Merced students what they like about being a Bobcat, they often talk about the caring and supportive faculty, staff and students. They talk about our campus as a second home and our community as a family. We invite you to come be a part of that!

residence halls

Spring 2022 on-campus housing applications open Monday, November 1, 2021. First year and transfer students can apply through the Housing Portal. The housing application process is two steps:

  1. Complete housing application on the Housing Portal starting Monday, November 1, 2021.
  2. Sign housing contract on the Housing Portal by 11:59 pm on Monday, January 3, 2022.

The deadline for students to sign their housing contract is Monday, January 3, 2022. Please visit housing.ucmerced.edu/contract for Spring 2022 room and meal plan rates, including a step-by-step tutorial on the housing application process. Incoming first year (freshman) students are required to live on campus for two years. More information on the two-year requirement is available here. If you are an incoming first year student who lives within 45 miles of the UC Merced campus and wish to live with a parent or guardian, please apply for a housing exemption. Find out more about the housing residency exemption here. The housing residency exemption must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, January 2, 2022. In addition, please click here for information about housing accommodations. Living on campus at UC Merced means benefitting from beautiful new residence halls with distinct layouts. To learn more about your on-campus living options. please click here.

Living Learning Communities (LLCs)

UC Merced Living Learning Communities unite students who have similar interests and educational goals with academic, social and personal resources across the campus community. Incoming Spring 2022 students may request to be assigned to a Living Learning Community when they make selections in the Housing Options and Learning Communities page during the housing application process. Requests will be approved based on bed space availability. These programs have specific structures that facilitate interactions with other students, faculty and staff, as well as community outreach components. Some examples of structured activities are field trips, service-learning projects, cluster classes and cohort and community-based social activities. Visit housing.ucmerced.edu/llc or take a look at this PDF to learn more.

Dining

UC Merced offers a variety of dining options to meet the diverse culinary needs of the campus community. You'll find a wide selection among our on-campus locations, including The Pavilion, Yablokoff Wallace Dining Center, Lantern Cafe, and the Summits Marketplace. Food trucks visit campus during lunch time as well. Visit this page to learn more.

For information about COVID-19 safety measures on campus, visit doyourpart.ucmerced.edu or housing.ucmerced.edu.