The 10^th campus in the prestigious University of California system, UC Merced is diverse, growing and committed to those ideals that serve the state, nation and world through research, education and public service.
UC Merced is the first new American research university in the 21^st century, with a mission of research, teaching and service. The campus opened September 5, 2005, in the Central Valley of California. The university is about an hour north of Fresno, two hours south of Sacramento, two hours southeast of San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, and 90 minutes west of Yosemite National Park.