Stony Brook University Graduate Admissions 

Master Your Future. Transform Tomorrow.

At Stony Brook University, we equip students with the knowledge and tools to address the most critical issues facing our world today. Our graduates are leaders, inventors, discoverers, and agents for social change. With more than 150 graduate and professional programs across the Graduate School, the School of Professional Development, and Health Sciences, Stony Brook can help you master your future and transform tomorrow.

Apply Online

Once you create an account, you can save and update your material as often as necessary until you click the “Finalize Application” button.  Once the application is reviewed and a decision is made by the programs admissions committee, the Slate portal will be updated. You should continue to check the Slate portal for information on your admissions decision. 

Once your application is submitted, you can log on to track its status. Before applying review checklist below:

Application Checklist

• Online Application

  Apply Online Here

  All applications must be submitted electronically through our online application system. Once you create an account, you can save and update your material as often as necessary until you click the “Finalize Application” button. Once your application is submitted, you can log on to track its status.

• Admissions Criteria

  An applicant must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale. If the student attends a college that only gives Passes or Credits for the first year of study, then these grades will be evaluated as C for GPA admission purposes unless the student provides actual grades.

  Please see your specific department program page for information regarding admissions criteria.
• Personal Statement

   Provide a brief personal statement regarding your experience and interest in the program.

• Application Fee

  The application fee for admission to the Graduate School is $100. All applicants are required to pay the application fee, with limited exceptions (see below)

• Application Fee Exceptions

  Exceptions are limited to:

  • Applicants who re-apply for admission within one academic year of declining an official offer of admission. Please attach a copy of the offer letter and a copy of the email declining admission to the application before submission.  These items are needed for review and approval
  • Students who are U.S. citizens and have current documentation from a financial aid administrator of an appropriate college or university official substantiating that they are currently enrolled and that the payment of the application would create a financial hardship (complete financial information for the current academic year must be provided, including total cost of education and amount and types of financial aid received). To qualify, applicants must include the necessary documentation listed above at the time of application submission review. These items are needed for review and approval.
  • Current students who have a fellowship/scholarship through EOP, HEOP, SEEK, McNair, Project 1000, AGEP, CSTEP, LSAMP, and AMSNY. To qualify, applicants must have a letter or email from the appropriate agency sent to the Graduate School attached to the application upon submission for review and approval of the application fee waiver request.
  • Veterans of the United States Military Service, currently on Active Duty of members of the National Guard or Reserves are exempt from paying the application fee. NOTE: Before fee waiver is applied, veterans must be vetted through the Office of Veteran Affairs at Stony Brook University and must submit a copy of their discharge paperwork (DD Form 214) with their application submission for review and approval of the application fee waiver request.

  For further information on application fee waivers and the fee waiver request process, please visit the Graduate Bulletin.

• 3 Letters of Recommendation

  In order to gain access to our recommendation forms, you must submit an application. Within your application, you can send emails directing your recommenders to each submit a recommendation online.

• OFFICIAL School Transcript(s)

  What Is an Official Transcript?

  An official transcript is issued directly by the institution you attended and includes an official seal or stamp and signature. Documents must be original, watermarked, and have an embossed seal from the institution on diplomas/degree certificates. Sealed photocopies of original documents, attested by the degree granting institution (autonomous college), can also be accepted. 

  Requirements for submitting official transcripts:

  • Sent directly from the institution in a sealed envelope, or
  • Sent electronically by an authorized official transcript delivery service

  Documents will not be considered official if they are opened, copied or scanned by the student.

  Final official transcripts must show:

  • All coursework and grades during the period of attendance
  • The degree(s) awarded
  • The date the degree was conferred

  What to Submit With Your Application

  For All Applicants (Initial Review)

  • Unofficial transcripts are acceptable for application review and admission decisions.

  • If you are currently enrolled and completing a degree, submit an unofficial transcript showing your progress to date.
  • If you have already completed your degree, the transcript must contain degree conferral. A degree certificate/diploma should be submitted if the transcript does not show degree conferral. 

  After Admission (Official Documents Required)

  Upon admission, you must submit final official transcripts sent directly from the institution or approved evaluation agency.

  Failure to submit official final documentation showing degree conferral will result in a registration block.

  Domestic Credentials (U.S. Institutions)
  Applicants with U.S. credentials must submit:

  • An official transcript showing degree conferral from the undergraduate institution your bachelor’s degree was earned.
  • An official transcript from each institution where graduate level coursework was completed, whether or not a degree was conferred.

  International Credentials (Non-U.S. Institutions)

  Applicants with international credentials must submit:

  1. Original academic records (transcripts and/or mark sheets) from each institution attended
  2. An official English translation of all records, including:
  • All complete course by course coursework
  • Grades or GPA
  • Degree(s) awarded
  • Institution(s) name(s)

  Translations must be provided by one of:

  • An accredited translation agency listed at atanet.org or naces.org
    • If not available in your country, translations will be accepted from your country’s Ministry of Education or equivalent. 
  • The institution at which the degree was conferred.
  • Translations conducted by the applicant themself will not be accepted.

  International Application Guidelines

  Credential Evaluation (International Applicants)

  • Credential Evaluations are typically not required for most Graduate School programs. Stony Brook University graduate admissions personnel will evaluate international coursework, GPA, degree equivalency, and institutional accreditation. In some cases in we are unable to determine equivalency or institutional accreditation, applicants may be requested to submit a course by coursecredential evaluation from one of the following approved NACES members listed below:
  • World Education Services (WES)
  • International Education Evaluations, Inc. (IEE)
  • Education Credential Evaluators (ECE)
  • The Evaluation Company (TEC)
  • Applicants will be notified if a third party evaluation is required. 
  • Some graduate-level Health Sciences programs may require a credential evaluation. Please check the individual program requirements. 
  • Submitted credential evaluations must be accompanied by the original-language and English translated transcripts and degree certificates/diplomas used for the evaluation. 

   

  Degree Conferral Documentation

  If your transcript does not clearly indicate that a degree (or equivalent) has been awarded, you must also submit:

  • An official (attested) diploma, or
  • An official certification of degree(s) awarded

  Transfer Credit (International Coursework)

  Graduate level coursework completed outside of the United States may be considered for transfer credit if:

  • The institution is accredited by the Ministry of Education or equivalent in that country

  Applicants may be asked to provide proof of accreditation or a credential evaluation from a NACES member..

  How to Submit an Official Transcript

  By Mail: (Preferred)

  Stony Brook University
  Graduate School

  Office of Admissions and Student Services

  Old Computer Science Building, Room 2401

  Stony Brook, NY 11794-4433

   

  Electronically:

  • Official electronic transcripts can be sent by a verified transcript delivery service such as Parchment or National Student Clearinghouse  to gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu. 
  • Note - If sending a transcript through Parchment, manually type our gradadmissions@stonybrook.edu email in so it will come directly to Graduate School Admissions. If you select the general Stony Brook University account it may be delivered to another office causing significant delays.
  • Transcripts sent as attachments from previous institutions will NOT be accepted.
    
    
    
    

  Important Notes

  • All application materials become the property of Stony Brook University Graduate School and will not be returned or forwarded.
• OFFICIAL GRE Scores

  If you are sending GRE or English Proficiency scores, please upload unofficial score reports to your application in order for your application to be reviewed. Your English proficiency exam must have been taken within 2 years of the application deadline.  Prior to enrollment at the University, official scores must be submitted. You must request that ETS send official score reports to Stony Brook University (School code: 2548).

  ETS Educational Partnership

  ETS believes that the cost of taking a GRE® test should not be a barrier to graduate study. To do its part, ETS provides the GRE® Fee Reduction Program, which reduces the cost of taking a GRE test by 50%. The program is offered for U.S. citizens and resident aliens who can demonstrate financial need or are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation.

  GRE Fee Reduction Program Information

  ETS proposes to host a monthly student GRE test prep workshop: A Deep Look at the GRE General Test. GRE Virtual Events (ets.org) Hear directly from the people who make the GRE® General Test! In this free 3-hour preparation session, you’ll get information about:

  • question types and test-taking strategies to help you tackle the Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections
  • what to expect on test day, scores, and score reporting
  • tools to help you prepare for the test
  • services available to help you stand out, including tools that can make it easier to connect with graduate program recruiters

  Test Prep Workshop Information

• OFFICIAL English Proficiency Scores (If applicable)*

  All students who are not native or primary speakers of English must demonstrate proficiency in English to be admitted to the Graduate School. There is no need to submit an English language proficiency test if:

  • you hold a degree such as a high school diploma, bachelors, masters, or PhD from an institution where the primary instruction was in English. 
  • you are a US citizen (or US National) or Permanent Resident.
  • you served as a Teaching Assistant at an institution where the primary instruction was in English.

  English language proficiency test results will be considered as part of the review process for admission for any applicant who submits test results as part of their application. If the scores are below the stated requirements, an offer of admission cannot be extended.

  To be considered for admission, an applicant who is not a native or primary speaker of English or do not qualify to be exempt from a language proficiency exam based on their answers to the application questions listed above, must present a minimum score for either the TOEFL, IELTS or Gateway tests, as defined below.

  • TOEFL iBT: 
    • Exams taken prior to 1/21/2026: Overall score of 90 for doctoral applicants and 80 for master’s applicants.
    •  Exams taken after 1/21/2026: Total score of 5 for doctoral applicants and 4.5 for master’s applicants.
  • IELTS: Overall score of 6.5, with no subsection recommended to be below 6.
  • Gateway English Test: Overall score of 495 for doctoral and master's applicants

  Students who will have a teaching role at the University and whose speaking test scores do not meet our minimum standards for teaching will be assigned to an Oral Academic English (OAE) course.

  TOEFL iBT Speak (Prior to 1/21/26)	TOEFL iBT Speak (After 1/21/26)	IELTS Speak	Gateway	Course Requirement	Result
  23-30	4.5	7 or higher	500-600	none	Eligible to TA
  21-22	4	6.5	455-495	OAE 594	Eligible to TA
  18-20	3.5	6	405-450	OAE 592	Eligible to run recitation and lab sessions and/or grade
  15-17	3	5-5.5	295-400	OAE 590	Not Eligible to TA

  

  Stony Brook University accepts TOEFL iBT to demonstrate your English language proficiency and academic readiness. Take it at home or in a test center in less than 2 hours.

  Register Now

For more comprehensive information on the language proficiency requirements for admissions, please refer to the Graduate Bulletin, and see your specific Department Program page for information regarding admissions criteria.

Deadline Information

The deadlines to the applications vary by program. Typically for funding consideration for fall applications the deadline will be January 15. It is best to check the website of your intended program of entry.

View Deadlines

Deposit Information

Once admitted to a Stony Brook University master's or advanced graduate certificate program in the College of Business, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, or School of Health Professions, students will be required to submit a tuition deposit of $500.00 upon acceptance of their offer of admission. 

Graduate School Deposit Policy

Questions?

Contact Us