Stony Brook University Review

Located on the North Shore of Long Island, Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y., has been ranked among the top one percent of world universities by The London Times and is one of the nation's best buys for education, according to the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Most popular among the school's 61 undergraduate majors are political science, sociology and English.

Stony Brook University Overview

Founded in 1957, Stony Brook University (SB) is one of 64 State University of New York (SUNY) campuses. SB has grown from a small preparatory school for science and math teachers to include a 1,100-acre main campus, a second campus in Southampton, a research and development facility in Manhattan and numerous other research centers.

Stony Brook University is one of two public colleges in New York with its own dental and medical schools and is home to the Stony Brook University Medical Center. In 2001, the university was invited to join the Association of American Universities, an organization that promotes institutional and national policy development and academic research. SB's commitment to science and medicine is reflected by the popularity of its psychology, biology and health services degree programs, which are among the ten most popular at the school.

Admissions and Enrollment Overview

Stony Brook University's admissions criteria include a high school diploma or GED, a strong high school academic program (such as four units of math, English and social studies and two to three units of a foreign language) and active participation in extracurricular activities or volunteer work. Special programs at SB, such as the Honors College and the Women in Science and Engineering program, have additional enrollment criteria. Students can apply using the Common Application or the SUNY Application and must submit an enrollment fee, admissions essay and additional materials, such as high school transcripts and standardized test scores.

Campus Facilities and Learning Environment

SB's East and West Campus University Libraries include two main libraries, five branch libraries, two research libraries and a library at the Stony Brook Southampton campus, which collectively house over two million bound books, four million publications in microformat and 12 special collections. The university also has seven performance spaces, five galleries, two museums and seven cultural centers, which play host to numerous film, music, theater and dance exhibitions and performances.

SB has a student-to-faculty ratio of 18:1, with 98% of faculty holding doctorates or the highest degrees in their fields. The university has numerous research centers, such as the Marine Science Research Center, the Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology and the Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is co-managed with other universities, including Princeton, Cornell and the University of Chicago.

Colleges and Schools at Stony Brook University

  • Undergraduate College of Arts, Culture and Humanities
  • Undergraduate College of Global Studies
  • Undergraduate College of Human Development
  • Undergraduate College of Information and Technology Studies
  • Undergraduate College of Leadership and Service
  • Undergraduate College of Science and Society
  • Honors College
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • College of Business
  • School of Journalism
  • School of Professional Development
  • School of Social Welfare
  • College of Engineering and Applied Sciences
  • School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
  • School of Dental Medicine
  • School of Health Technology and Management
  • School of Nursing
  • School of Medicine
  • Graduate School

Contact Information

  • Address: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794
  • Phone Number: (631) 632-6000