Facts, Rankings & Accolades

Top 100 college in the nation for the third year in a row

School of Engineering Demographics (Fall 2026)

Check Out our Engineering Info Kiosk

For more: Center of Institutional Effectiveness (CIE)

3,221 Undergraduate Engineering Students
- 20% Women (UG engineering students)
- 58% URM (1874 underrepresented minority)
- 59% First-Generation
230 Graduate Engineering Students
- 204 Ph.D.
- 26 M.S.
483 Engineering Degrees Awarded (2025-26)
- 442 B.S.
- 22 M.S.
- 19 Ph.D.
Ethnicities (UG) Fall 2026:
- 53% Hispanic (1,714)
- 24% Asian (785)
- 10% White (310)
- 5% African-American/Black (153)
- 1% International (33)
- 5% Multi-ethnic (172)
- <1% American Indian/Pacific Islander (4)

UC Merced Demographics (Fall 2026)

8,981 Total Enrollment
- 8,981 Undergraduate Student Enrollment
- 646 Graduate Student Enrollment
- 66% of Undergraduates are First-Generation
Ethnicities (UG) Fall 2026:
- 59% Hispanic
- 20% Asian
- 9% White
- 5% African-American/Black
- 5% Multi-ethnic
- 1% International
- <1% American Indian/Pacific Islander

School of Engineering Faculty (FALL 2026)

67 ladder-rank faculty (34% Women)
- 28 Professors (42%)
- 21 Associate Professors (31%)
- 18 Assistant Professors (27%)
12 Teaching Faculty
2 National Academy Members
- National Academy of Engineering
- National Academy of Sciences
20 NSF Career Awardees
6 Other Federal Young Investigator Awardees
3 Endowed Professorships

Research Impact

$16.9 million dollars in research awards (AY2025-26)
We are R1 | UC Merced Earns Carnegie R1 Classification
Two 2025 Distinctions | Carnegie Opportunity Classifications

More SoE Faculty Research >>

School of Engineering Rankings

U.S. News & World Report Rankings

#99 - GRADUATE ENGINEERING PROGRAM ^{(April 2026)}

[News] Engineering in Top 100 | Best Engineering School by U.S. News (UNWR)

#82 - Environmental Systems
#101 - Materials Engineering
#103 - Computer Engineering
#103 - Mechanical Engineering
#125 - Electrical Engineering/Electronics/Communications Engineering
#126 - Bioengineering

#128 - UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING (among Ph.D.-granting schools) ^{(September 2026)}

[News] Our Best Ever Engineering Ranking (UNWR)

UC Merced Rankings

U.S. News & World Report

[News] UC Merced Named 30th Best Public University in the Nation (USNWR)

#4 Social Mobility
#18 Best Value for In-state Students ^{(this is a brand new category)}
#30 Best Public University in the Nation
#40 Best College for Veterans^{(our first time charting in this category)}

Wall Street Journal

[News] UC Merced Ranked 14th Best College in the Nation and No. 3 Amongst Public Universities (2026)

#1 in the nation for Social Mobility ^{(WSJ 2025)}
#3 among all US public institutions
#6 in California ^{(WSJ 2025)}
#14 among all US universities

Other Rankings & Accolades

#1 EMI Tier (Third Way’s Economic Mobility Index)
#1 in the nation among young universities ^{(Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024)}
BEST COLLEGES In the US | Money Magazine
BEST COLLEGES Tuition & Tax Dollars | Washington Monthly

Sustainability

The Princeton Review

#7 in Top 50 Green Colleges (2025)

AASHE Sustainable Campus Index

#1 in the nation for sustainable buildings
#1 (tied) in the nation for sustainable research

Sierra Club's Cool Schools

No. 7 Top Ten “Cool School,” Sierra magazine ‘2021 Cool Schools’ list

Download our Engineering At-A-Glance ^{(F26 Coming Soon!)}

More UC Merced Accolades >>

^{Vers. 09.30.26- dbq}