Mission
UC Merced Division of Professional and Continual Education's mission is to build and support a culture of lifelong learning by offering real-world, high quality, flexible, and innovative educational offerings that empower our diverse community of learners in their pursuit of academic and professional excellence.
Vision
Our vision is to be a broadly accessible bridge between the University of California's academic and research excellence and our diverse community of lifelong learners in California's Central Valley and beyond by offering transformative educational experiences.
Core Values
The UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education team values collaboration with community partners to enable social mobility through an agile, responsive, and flexible service mindset for workforce development. We adhere to progressive and cross-functional teamwork that values innovation, transparency, diversity, and inclusion.
- Increase Social Mobility
- Partnership
- Academic Quality & Excellence
- Agility
- Equity, Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Forward Thinking & Innovative
- Flexible Academic Model
- Growth Mindset
- Real-world Instructors/Practitioners of Excellence
- Research to Practice
What is PACE?
UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) offers access to the university's academic courses through Open University and provides professional courses in a variety of industry fields (education, business, technology, renewable energy, healthcare, etc.). UC Merced PACE partners with regional community initiatives and organizations to boost economic and social development with a focus on delivering courses in convenient and flexible formats, including fully online, hybrid, in-person, and custom modalities.
UC Merced PACE offers workforce-responsive, non-degree credentials and credential pathways that provide opportunities to upskill and re-skill. We can develop and deliver skills-based, alternative credential programs that align with employer needs and high demand jobs. Alternative credentials are non-degree, professional credit, certificate, stackable, micro-credentials, bootcamps, etc.
