July 11, 2016 - UC Merced Extension, a combination of professional development and personal enrichment courses that mark the campus’s first extension offerings, launches this summer with educational excursions to Yosemite National Park and fully online courses for working professionals in business, management, information technologies and engineering.

The excursions, “Yosemite and Fire” and “Yosemite and Water,” take place July 15 and July 23, respectively. Yosemite and Fire explores fire management in national parks through the lens of Yosemite’s role as a global fire policy leader. Yosemite and Water examines how national parks play a part in American water policy. UC Merced staff member Steve Shackelton will co-instruct both courses, along with other experts.

With plans to expand UC Merced Extension’s offerings in the coming months, a search for a director of education programs is underway, with members of Merced’s K-12 education community serving on the search committee. The director’s goals will include increasing the variety of continuing education opportunities available for educators and providing new educational programming for K-12 students during the summer.

UC Merced Extension has partnered with UC Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education to offer fully online educational opportunities for people who want to enhance their professional or technical skills. Participants can take individual courses as well as enroll in a variety of certificate programs taught by industry experts who share real-world experiences and best practices with students. Registration for Fall 2016 opens July 22, with courses scheduled to begin in September.

For information, visit the UC Merced Extension website.