Is UC Merced a good company to work for?

UC Merced has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 704 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 79% of employees would recommend working at UC Merced to a friend and 50% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about UC Merced have been left by employees working as Undergraduate Research Assistant , Student Assistant and Graduate Student Researcher .

Does UC Merced pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, UC Merced employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at UC Merced. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at UC Merced?

79% of UC Merced employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated UC Merced 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.8 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at UC Merced?

Teaching Assistant (26) , Student Assistant (20) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (18) , Graduate Research Assistant (17) , Research Assistant (15) , Graduate Student (12) , Postdoctoral Fellow (12) , Undergraduate Research Assistant (12) , Graduate Student Researcher (10) , Lecturer (9) , Learning Assistant (7) , Student Technology Consultant (7) , Student Worker (7) , Administrative Assistant (6) , Postdoctoral Researcher (6)

What are the pros of working at UC Merced according to real employee reviews?

"Friendly people at a growing campus" ((in 32 reviews)); "Good benefits but a rapid paced environment" ((in 24 reviews)); "Nice campus" ((in 14 reviews)); "Good work environment" ((in 14 reviews)); "This is a very young campus with many opportunities to build programs and policies from ground up." ((in 13 reviews))

What are the cons of working at UC Merced according to real employee reviews?

"Low salary but it will increase because of the recent strike" ((in 6 reviews)); "Lack of established priorities and Leadership" ((in 6 reviews)); "Scheduling and upper management not understanding needs of team" ((in 5 reviews)); "Lack of communication, Mainly virtual" ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about UC Merced layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about UC Merced layoffs and their outlook for job security at UC Merced in 2026.

What are the top reviewed UC Merced locations?

Merced , Houston , Atwater , Burbank , Los Angeles , Modesto , Patterson , Riverside , San Diego , Discovery Bay , San Jose , Tracy , Boulder , University Place , Calif City

UC Merced reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(649 total reviews)

Dorothy Leland

75% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

UC Merced has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 649 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The UC Merced employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

649 reviews

5.0

Sep 19, 2014

UC Merced was a little rough around the edges especially in the beginning, but it still ended up being great.

Graduate student researcher & teaching assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

At UC Merced you end up being a big fish in a small pond rather than being a small fish in a big pond like most universities. As a researcher that means lots of equipment and attention. Also, more finding to go around. In Cognitive and Information Sciences, we usually got our number one pick of teaching assistant positions. Instructors of record were always conscious of your research demands and made the teaching responsibilities pretty basic.

Cons

Sometimes there is a shortage of teaching assistants, which is usually unheard of at other universities. And because of this shortage it is possible for teaching assistants to be overworked. The teaching assistants along with tutors and readers are protected by a union contract but enforcement of the contract can be tedious.

5.0

Aug 6, 2014

Research associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Isolated location, good for performing research.

Cons

Isolated location, thus performing research.

5.0

Aug 6, 2014

Opportunity

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly staff and environment and working with motivated students that want to succeed. Although UC Merced is fairly new, they definitely are making a name for themselves

Cons

City of Merced can be a little scary at night but not the University itself

Viewing 601 - 603 of 649 Reviews

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Jobs at UC Merced

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Greenhouse Assistant Specialist

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UC Merced

UC Merced reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

UC Merced was a little rough around the edges especially in the beginning, but it still ended up being great.

Research associate

Opportunity

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at UC Merced