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Stony Brook University: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

755 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
49% Acceptance Rate

Stony Brook University is a public institution in Stony Brook, New York enrolling 18,101 undergraduates. It accepts 49% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 76%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #159 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 3%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Stony Brook University Ranked?

Stony Brook University ranks #159 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 3%.

#159 Best Colleges in Nation
#12 Best Colleges in NY
Stony Brook University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Stony Brook University was awarded 755 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook is ranked #159 out of 5,159 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.

SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook is also ranked #12 on the Best Colleges in New York list.

See all of the rankings for Stony Brook University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Stony Brook University?

49% Acceptance Rate
50% Of Accepted Are Women
34% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Stony Brook University is a competitive 49%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.

Average Test Scores

About 34% of students accepted to SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 650 and 730. Math scores were between 680 and 770.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Stony Brook University  ( 650 to 730 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Stony Brook University  ( 680 to 770 )
200
800

SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 29 and 33.

ACT Composite Scores for Stony Brook University  ( 29 to 33 )
1
36

Learn more about Stony Brook University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Stony Brook University?

19 to 1 Student to Faculty
62% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Stony Brook University is 19 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at Stony Brook University is 62%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  62 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Stony Brook University?

90% Freshmen Retention
76% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Stony Brook University has a freshmen retention rate of 90%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  90 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook for first-time, full-time students is 76%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  76 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Stony Brook University.

How Diverse Is Stony Brook University?

18,101 Undergraduate Students
60.5% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
51.8% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 18,101 undergraduates at SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Stony Brook University.

How Much Does Stony Brook University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
35% Take Out Loans
$23,908 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$12,943 $15,432 $20,728 $23,424 $27,716

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook, approximately 35% of students took out student loans averaging $5,977 a year. That adds up to $23,908 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Stony Brook University.

How Much Do Stony Brook University Graduates Earn?

$74,502 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Stony Brook University make around $74,502 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Stony Brook University graduates since it is 51% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Stony Brook University Graduates

See which majors at Stony Brook University make the most money.

Where Is Stony Brook University Located?

New York State
18,101 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

Stony Brook University is an public institution found in Stony Brook, New York. Stony Brook is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Stony Brook University.

Location of Stony Brook University

Contact details for Stony Brook University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 310 Administration Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-0701
Phone: 6316326000
Website: www.stonybrook.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stony_Brook_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stonybrooku
Twitter: twitter.com/stonybrooku

What Majors Does Stony Brook University Offer?

23 Majors With Completions
16,860 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 23 majors graduated from Stony Brook University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 8,430 NA
Business Administration & Management 664 $49,296
General Psychology 663 $29,461
Computer Science 637 NA
General Biology 560 $25,167
Health Sciences & Services 498 $33,206
Nursing 393 $96,559
Applied Mathematics 391 $44,889
Social Work 296 $41,910
Economics 229 $44,546

Learn more about the majors offered at Stony Brook University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook Offer Online Classes?

55% Take At Least One Class Online
1% Take All Classes Online

9,923 students took at least one online class at Stony Brook University.

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

Learn more about online learning at Stony Brook University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to SUNY Stony Brook State University of New York at Stony Brook? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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