Stony Brook University
News — STONY BROOK, NY—April 24, 2025—Stony Brook University has been designated as an Opportunity College and University by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education®, recognizing Stony Brook as an institution that can serve as a model for studying how campuses can foster student success.
The Opportunity Colleges and Universities designation is part of a newly developed Student Access and Earnings Classification published this month by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. This new classification examines the extent to which institutions foster opportunities for student success by measuring whether institutions are enrolling students reflective of the communities they serve and how the earnings of those students compare to peers in their area.
In 2025, 479 institutions have been identified as Opportunity Colleges and Universities, which is about 16% of all U.S. colleges and universities that are in the Student Access and Earnings Classification.
Stony Brook is one of only three members of the American Association of Universities -- North America’s leading research universities -- to be designated as higher opportunity and higher earnings, along with Arizona State University and the University of California Irvine. Of the four University Centers in the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook is the only institution to receive this designation. Other SUNY colleges in this classification are SUNY at Fredonia, SUNY College of Technology at Alfred, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Oneonta, and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
“Stony Brook is one of the nation's leading research universities, with a growing and highly diverse student body that includes many who are the first in their families to attend college,” said Interim President Richard L. McCormick. “This Carnegie Classifications recognition is a testament to Stony Brook’s commitment to providing an exceptional education that is accessible to students from all backgrounds. Our students graduate and we are among the top universities in propelling their affluence and opportunity.”
The methodology for the new Student Access and Earnings Classification uses multidimensional groupings of the 2025 Institutional Classification to evaluate student access and earnings between similar colleges and universities.
The classification is based on data institutions reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, data that was collected by the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, and data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Institutions receive two measures: one for access, which is based on the percentage of students who receive Pell Grants and the percentage of undergraduate students who are from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds, and one that is based on undergraduate students' post-attendance earnings eight years after entering the institution. In the classification, this data has been contextualized to consider local demographic and economic data.
More information about 2025 Student Earnings and Access Classifications, including the methodology, can be found .
More About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University’s 2025 Carnegie Classification has also been designated as a Mixed Undergraduate/Graduate-
Previously, Stony Brook University was named the first public university in New York deemed to be a R1 Research Institution in 1987 by the Carnegie Classification.
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About the Carnegie Classification
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education. The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the classification in 1973 to support its program of research and policy analysis, and it was updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2025 to reflect changes among colleges and universities. It will next be updated in 2028, with subsequent updates every three years.
About the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life. Enacted by an act of Congress in 1906, the Foundation has a rich history of driving transformational change in the education sector, including the establishment of TIAA-CREF and the creation of the Education Testing Service, the GRE, Pell Grants, and the Carnegie Classifications for Higher Education.
About the American Council on Education
ACE unites and leads higher education institutions toward a shared vision for the future. With more than 1,600 member colleges, universities, and associations, ACE designs solutions for today’s challenges and advances public policy to support a diverse and dynamic higher education sector. Learn more at or follow ACE on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn .
About Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University is New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 26,000 students, more than 3,000 faculty members, more than 225,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #58 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. Â鶹´«Ã½ & World Report’s Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize, Fields Medal and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy — one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $8.93 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook and X@stonybrooku.
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