The University of California, Merced is a public land-grant research university in Merced, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Established in 2005, UC Merced is the newest campus within the UC system. The primary campus is located around five miles north of Merced and sits adjacent to Lak…The University of California, Merced is a public land-grant research university in Merced, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Established in 2005, UC Merced is the newest campus within the UC system. The primary campus is located around five miles north of Merced and sits adjacent to Lake Yosemite. The main campus is around 1,026 acres in size. Large swaths of protected natural grasslands surround the university.