UC Merced collaborates with universities and other research institutions around the world. Most often, this collaboration develops from the efforts of our individual faculty members and their colleagues abroad, and proceeds successfully without the establishment of formal inter-institutional partnerships.
In some instances, UC Merced and its partner institutions formalize their relationships through inter-institutional memoranda of understanding and other agreements. These agreements facilitate a range of activities, including collaborative research, student and faculty mobility, and international student enrollment. While partnership agreements are intended to make meaningful contributions to the institutions’ respective international goals, achieving their potential usually depends on active participation of faculty, staff and their academic and administrative units and, in many cases, notable non-personnel resources. Consequently, the development of inter-institutional agreements proceeds from critical consideration of the potential return of the partnership, including its sustainability.
When it is determined that a partnership agreement is appropriate and in accordance with UC Merced’s institutional goals, the Office of International Affairs collaborates with agreement sponsors, Legal Affairs, and senior leadership at UC Merced to develop the agreement and move it through the formalization process. Once agreements are finalized, they are included in the campus-wide international agreement repository, which is managed by International Affairs.
