UC Merced Sees Strong Gains in U.S. News Grad School Rankings

Graduate programs in the School of Natural Sciences posted some of the largest gains in this year's U.S. News rankings. The Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Group made the largest jump, up 18 spots to No. 118. The Quantitative and Systems Biology Graduate Group (Best Biological Sciences Programs) ranked No. 131, up 13 spots from last year, and the Physics Graduate Program rose nine spots to No. 104.

"These rankings reflect the strength and momentum of graduate education across UC Merced. In the School of Natural Sciences, we're especially proud to see significant gains across chemistry, biology and physics," Dean Michael Findlater said. "These areas are central to the university's research mission and represent the School's unofficial motto that we do research 'From the Valley to the Stars.' Together with our colleagues in engineering and the social sciences, this progress highlights the depth and breadth of scholarship being built across the campus."

Highlights for the School of Natural Sciences include:

• Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe was named a 2025 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her distinguished contributions to soil sciences and for her exemplary leadership in scientific organizations, leading to a more equitable and innovative scientific culture. Chemistry Professor Henrik Larsson received a prestigious Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, becoming the first faculty member from UC Merced to earn the honor.

• Biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang received a $1.2 million grant from the William M. Keck Foundation to support his work to explain how bacteria, and potentially many other organisms, adapt to changes in temperature.

• Cosmology Professor Anna Nierenberg received an NSF CAREER award for a project that will vastly improve the study of the nature of dark matter in the universe.

• The National Institutes of Health renewed Professor Clarissa Nobile 's Maximizing Investigators' Research Award grant for an additional five years and $2.5 million to help her understand the mechanisms by which microbes form biofilms, specifically those that can be hazardous to human health.

U.S. News ranks business, education, engineering, law, nursing and medicine graduate programs annually, while other disciplines and specialties in the sciences, social sciences, humanities and other areas are ranked periodically. More information about how U.S. News rankings are weighted is available on its website.

Three Ph.D. programs in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts earned spots in last year's U.S. News rankings. The Sociology Graduate Program made a strong debut in the rankings at No. 64 in the nation, tied with UC Riverside, Temple University, the University of Florida and Washington State University. The Political Science Graduate Program ranked No. 52, up 11 positions from its debut in the 2022 rankings, and the Psychological Sciences Graduate Program ranked No. 95, up 63 spots since debuting in 2015.

The U.S. News rankings are designed to help prospective students research more than 2,000 graduate programs, weighing factors such as reputation, research activity and student selectivity.

"These rankings reflect the progress we are making and the future we are building as a leading public research institution," Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Hrant Hratchian said. "They highlight academic strength, research excellence and our unwavering commitment to graduate education."