Carnegie Recognizes UC Merced for Student Access, Grad Earnings

UC Merced has earned two 2025 Carnegie distinctions, the Student Access and Earnings Classification “Opportunity Colleges and Universities” and the Institutional Classification by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education.

“It speaks to the mission and values we uphold as a student-centered, academically rigorous research institution,” said Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz.

Recognition with the Student Access and Earnings Classification and as an “Opportunity Colleges and Universities-Higher Access, Higher Earnings” institution signifies the campus’s alumni make at least 50% more than the median income of the comparison group in their region eight years after attendance.

UC Merced is one of 81 research universities classified as Opportunity Colleges and Universities. This means it enrolls students who reflect the communities it serves and who go on to earn competitive wages compared to peers in their area. Only 16% of all U.S. colleges and universities are designated in the Student Access and Earnings Classification.

Demographically, 61% of UC Merced’s undergraduate students are first-generation, 61% are Pell recipients, more than 60% are underrepresented minorities and 99% of the students are from California.

UC Merced has the second highest percentage of Pell-eligible students among all 176 R1 universities. The campus is one of only 21 universities in the country and one of three in California to hold both R1 and ‘opportunity’ classifications.

In a second designation, UC Merced was named in the Institutional Classification — which includes 82 institutions, representing 2% of U.S. colleges and universities. Institutions are classified based on degree types awarded, the subjects in which the institution awards degrees and the size of the institution.

This is the latest Carnegie recognition UC Merced has received for its commitment to student success. In February, the nearly 20-year-old campus earned Research I (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing it among the nation's top research universities. In 2015, the campus received the Carnegie Community Engagement designation.

Carnegie classifications are based on data from the 2020-2023 academic years submitted to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Institutions are grouped by degree type, academic focus and size.