Merced, CA – At the UC Merced Community Engagement Center, we’re excited to share the results of our latest Pathways to Public Service assessment. This snapshot highlights how our students see themselves making an impact and engaging with their communities! Each year, this assessment helps us better understand where students’ interests lie across the six public service pathways, ranging from Direct Service to Policy & Governance. This year, 258 UC Merced students participated, offering valuable insights that will guide how we support and grow our programming moving forward.
What We Learned: Top Pathways
The pathway that drew the most interest this year was Direct Service, with 52.51% of students selecting it as a pathway they would like to be involved in. It's clear that our Bobcats are hands-on community builders, ready to get out there and make a difference.
Close behind was Community Engaged Learning & Research, with 42.6% of students saying they were very interested in diving deeper into this area. We also saw a rise in interest for Policy & Governance, with 92 students expressing strong interest. This shows that Bobcats are ready to make an impact from the ground up to the policy level.
We also noticed that Philanthropy stood out as a pathway with low prior experience (just 9.3%) but strong curiosity. This highlights an area where we can offer more opportunities for students to explore giving and resource-building as meaningful tools for change.
Who’s Getting Involved?
We’re proud to see strong representation across all class years:
- 28.5% of participants were Seniors
- 28.1% were Juniors
- 21.6% were Freshmen
- 21.2% were Sophomores
- 0.4% were Graduate or other students
It’s incredibly encouraging to see early interest from our underclassmen who are just beginning their public service journeys. It's also great to see participation from every year of Bobcats!
Majors Taking the Lead
Public service speaks to students from every discipline, but our top three represented majors were:
- Psychology – 35.39%
- Biology – 13.9%
- Computer Science – 9.5%
Whether students are headed into mental health, medicine, education, or engineering, their interest in public service shows the values they’re bringing with them into their future careers.
When Students Engaged
The majority of responses came in September (62%), showing that early-semester energy is a powerful time to connect students with civic opportunities. This is thanks in large part to our annual Open House and Community Partner Jamboree. We also saw a notable rise in April, as students worked to complete their steps for the Public Service and Leadership Certificate.
The Pathways to Public Service assessment is just the first step. If you’re interested in learning more about the certificate or how to get involved, stop by the CEC office. We’d love to talk with you!
Final Thoughts
As we reflect on these results, we’re filled with appreciation for how deeply UC Merced students care about their communities and the broader world. These insights help us strengthen our mission to create spaces where students can learn, lead, and serve.
Public service isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s a mosaic, and every response helps us better understand each piece.
We look forward to building new opportunities based on what you’ve shared. Whether you’re just starting out or continuing your journey, we’re here to support you in finding your unique path to public impact.
