friends become family

friends become family

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


The Fall 2021 housing application opened Monday, March 1, 2021. You can apply through the Housing Portal 24 hours after submitting your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR). The deadline for first year students to sign their housing contract is June 1, 2021. Transfer students should apply for housing by June 4, 2021. Visit housing.ucmerced.edu/contract for Fall 2021 room and meal plan rates, including information about academic year (Aug. to May) and year-round (12 months) housing contracts. Check out 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 your parent/guardian, apply for a housing exemption by June 1. Find out more about the housing residency exemption here. Attending UC Merced means benefitting from beautiful new residence halls with different layouts. Learn about your on-campus living options 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 students may indicate interest in up to two Living Learning Communities when they make selections in the Housing Options and Learning Communities page during the housing application process. 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.

Please note: The Transfer LLC is not available for Fall 2021.

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.