World Heritage focuses on the natural and cultural legacy of the human past, and how it is reflected today in places, landscapes, and intangible aspects of cultures. A specific focus is on studying and
mapping monuments, buildings, and cultural and natural sites and landscapes with Remote Sensing, 3D visualization technologies, and Geographic Information Systems. Students may study World Heritage to strengthen their skills in the interpretation, documentation, and management of places with an emphasis in either cultural or natural attributes.
Interdisciplinary education, diversity, and cutting edge research are key aspects of the mission of UC Merced. Focusing on the value of heritage as a cultural process, the World Heritage program stimulates students to develop a critical understanding of heritage and analyze both institutional and multi-vocal approaches to the study of past and present cultures. This approach engages students in this new field of study that bridges knowledge and methods from many disciplines such as art, architecture, history, anthropology, archaeology, cognitive science, computer science, earth science, geography, and global policies and management.
The World Heritage program prepares students for heritage careers in cultural and historical preservation, cultural and natural resource management, and global policies on heritage or a combination of such disciplinary approaches, through both the undergraduate minor, and M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Interdisciplinary Humanities Graduate Group (IHGG).
