/Office of the Registrar
Office of the Registrar

Visiting Non-Matriculated Student Enrollment

Students from other colleges and universities are welcome to enroll in Summer or Winter Session courses as non-matriculated (visiting) students.

Before registering, consult your academic advisor at your home institution to ensure the courses you select will count toward your degree.

If you have enrolled at Stony Brook University in the past, before submitting an application please contact the Registrar’s Office to confirm if your record is still active for enrollment. Applications do not need to submitted more than once to pursue visiting student enrollment. 

Students are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and abiding by the University's regulations, procedures, requirements, and deadlines as described in official publications. This includes, by way of example only, the Undergraduate Catalog, the University Conduct Code, the Student Handbook, and class schedules.

Stony Brook University does not allow auditing courses, eligible candidates can contct the School of Professional Development to explore auditing programs. 

Steps to Enroll

Step 1: Application

After You Apply - Processing time: 3–5 business days after application fee is received. You will receive an email with:

  • SBU ID number
  • Temporary password
  • Instructions to access SOLAR (student portal)

Step 2: Enrollment Appointment

Summer and Winter enrollment open on a fixed date for all each term. For Summer 2026 Enrollment Opens on : April, 7th, 2026 (12AM)

Prior to this date students will receive enrollment access errors.

Take the time to also check for any holds on your record within SOLAR to avoid enrollment errors. 

Step 3: Register for Classes

Class Permissions

Many visiting students must obtain permission for courses with prerequisites. This is because visiting students would not have a full academic history in SOLAR. To resolve this, visiting students will need to manually request permission from the academic department by providing an unofficial transcript for evaluation. 

Check out our Academic Department Contacts page for guidance on where to send your request.

Steps:
  • Obtain an unofficial transcript
  • Contact the academic department offering the course
  • Send your unofficial transcript and specify the course(s)
  • The department will review and, if approved, will enter the permission in SOLAR for you
Note: Permission must be entered in SOLAR—verbal or email approval alone is not sufficient.

Once you are ready to register, students can check out our tutorial guides on how to add a class to your schedule on our SOLAR for Students page.

 

 

Post Enrollment

Students can edit or drop their enrollment within SOLAR in accordance with the Academic Calendar. 

Be mindful of drop periods in accordance with deadlines. Students can drop all courses prior to Day 1 of the semester/session in SOLAR. Once the semester begins, individual course drops can be done, noting that students would need to pursue a withdrawal/leave of absence to drop all courses. 

After Add/Drop - students who drop after the Add/Drop deadline will receive a W grade.

Students should review the Tuition Liability Schedule and connect with a Financial Aid counselor to understand how it may affect financial aid and/or refunds. 

For guidance on how to drop a course, students can refer to the tutorial guide on our SOLAR for Students page.

 

Visiting Student Petitions

Past certain deadlines or to perform certain enrollment functions, visiting students will need to submit a petition to perform the following functions:

  • Late Add a Course - seeking enrollment past the Add/Drop deadline (Summer Only)
  • Time Conflict Requests - enroll into a course that overlaps with another course on your schedule
  • Credit Overload Requests - enroll in additional credits beyond the set credit limit 
  • Late Withdrawal Petition - visiting students seeking to withdraw/drop from a course past the deadline

Enrollment petitions will be available for Winter 2027 in October 2026