Undergraduate Programs

The mission of the Aerospace Engineering undergraduate program is to provide a basic understanding of aerospace/aeronautical engineering built on a foundation of physical sciences, mathematics, computing, and technology, and to impart the critical reasoning, technological expertise, and communication skills needed for engineers to contribute to society.

Bioengineering is a highly interdisciplinary field in which the techniques, devices, materials and resourcefulness of engineers are used to address problems in biology and healthcare; and lessons from biology are used to inspire design and inform progress in engineering. 

The undergraduate major in Chemical Engineering provides students with a solid foundation in both chemistry and engineering with the necessary skills to work in a wide range of industries. The major also includes opportunities for students intending to continue their education in graduate school to conduct research. Chemical Engineering impacts society by developing innovative technologies in sustainability, product development, processing, and plant and operations safety.

The undergraduate major in Civil Engineering prepares students for careers in both private and public organizations concerned with managing air quality, water quality and supply, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, infrastructure, energy systems, public health, and the long-term social, economic, and environmental welfare of our society. The program is also a good foundation for further study in engineering, earth science, business, management, law, policy, planning, and public health.

Computer Science and Engineering students at UC Merced work with the world's top computer scientists and engineers. Our program combines practical exposure to the most modern technologies available with a theoretical foundation that empowers students to master future changes and innovations as technologies continue to evolve at an astonishing pace.

The DSA major provides students with courses across the entire data analytics pipeline with series of refinements including identifying and integrating appropriate data; understanding the strengths and weaknesses of data and its sources; extracting valuable insights by way of advanced visualization and inferential methods; and strategically communicating recommendations based upon analysis to maximally inspire persons and groups to take action.

Our undergraduate Electrical Engineering major starts in the fall 2023 semester. Students will have a unique opportunity to create new traditions for a new program in a well-established engineering field. Today we rely on electricity for almost everything. Thus, our society relies on electrical engineers, from the electrical grid that brings reliable electricity to every building to the smart phone in your pocket. The program will teach fundamentals of engineering and electricity while introducing students to real-world problems and opportunities.

Environmental engineers are distinguished from other environmental professionals through their focus on problem solving, design and implementation of technological or management systems. In our program, you'll learn how to search for creative and economical ways to use resources efficiently, limit the release of residuals into the environment, develop sensitive techniques to track pollutants once released and find effective methods to remediate spoiled resources.

The department of Management of Complex Systems oversees the Management Analytics and Decision-Making (MAD) minor. This interdisciplinary minor fosters analytical skills, communication skills, and critical thinking about managing data and analytics in complex environments, and will provide you the tools to collect, analyze, manage, visualize and communicate data for diverse management focusing on People, Planet, and Profit.

Since the beginning of civilization, technological progress has always relied on the materials that people were able to acquire from nature or through trade or by innovation. Wood, stone, bronze, iron, steel, aluminum, cements, plastics, semiconductors, liquid crystals, nanomaterials and quantum dots all have unique properties that enable — but also limit — what humans can make and do.

The new MSE minor opens this Fall 2021. The new minor is the first, and currently only, engineering minor offered at UC Merced; it is open to students in all three Schools who meet the prerequisites for the 20 required units.

Please note that while the MSE minor will appear in the 2022-23 catalog, it is active for enrollment this academic year 2021-22.

Because of the variety of fields that are relevant to this profession, our undergraduate program covers areas in dynamics, materials, thermal/fluids, vibrations, controls, computer aided engineering, design and manufacturing. The innovative curriculum at UC Merced provides hands-on education that exposes students to engineering fundamentals, laboratory work and the use of computational tools to solve realistic engineering problems.