Stony Brook University was established in 1957 as a college for the preparation of secondary school teachers of mathematics and science; its first campus was located at Oyster Bay, Long Island, on the grounds of a former Gold Coast estate. In 1962, a new campus was built in Stony Brook, on land donated by local philanthropist Ward Melville. Part of the State University of New York system, Stony Brook now encompasses 123 buildings on 1,100 acres. In the nearly fifty years since its founding, the University has grown tremendously, and is now recognized as one of the nation's important centers of learning and scholarship, carrying out the mandate given by the State Board of Regents in 1960 to become a university that would stand with the finest in the country.


Student Activities Center
Photograph from About the SAC (Accessed on June 6, 2008)

Stony Brook University ranks in the top 2 percent of all universities in the world. The London Times Higher Education Supplement placed Stony Brook 136 among more than 8,300 universities worldwide, and in the top 50 in North America. Among science universities, Stony Brook ranks in the top 100 in the world, top 25 in North America, and top 10 among public universities. Stony Brook has been ranked among the top 100 national universities in America and among the top 50 public national universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Stony Brook is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, the invitation-only organization of the best research universities in the country. Stony Brook has been listed as one of the "100 Best Values in Higher Education" among public universities, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

* The University offers 119 undergraduate majors and minors, 102 masters programs, 40 doctoral programs, and 32 graduate certificate programs.
* Ten doctoral programs are ranked in the top 40 nationwide, with two in the top ten and four in the top 20.
* Stony Brook is one of ten universities given a National Science Foundation recognition award for integrating research and education.

Close by the historic village of Stony Brook at the geographic midpoint of Long Island, the University campus lies about 60 miles east of Manhattan and 60 miles west of Montauk Point. It is only a short distance to the beaches at Fire Island, the elegant resorts of the Hamptons, and the vineyards of the East End. The internationally recognized research facilities of Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are nearby.

- Preceding information adapted from Stony Brook at a Glance (Accessed June 6, 2008)


Earth and Space Sciences Building - June 12, 2008


The Charles B. Wang Center - June 12, 2008

See also:
Google Earth Community: Charles B. Wang Center
Google Earth Community: Stony Brook Southampton Campus Map Overlay

Web site: Stony Brook University

The attached kmz file marks buildings and other features on the Stony Brook University campus.