/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. 

Why Enroll?

  • Affordable tuition compared to many private universities
  • Accelerate your path to graduation
  • Complete prerequisites for competitive majors (e.g., health sciences, engineering)
  • Stay academically engaged during breaks
  • High school students can gain college-level experience

Steps to Enroll

Application

  • Students with a bachelor’s degree: Apply through the Office of Graduate Admissions as a graduate non-matriculated student
  • Students without a bachelor’s degree: Submit the Visiting Student Application
  • Previously admitted to Stony Brook: Do not reapply—contact the Registrar’s Office for next steps

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)

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. 

Planning a Schedule

Students have options on how they can plot out a potential schedule. First is the Class Search feature in SOLAR under the Manage Classes tile. Searches can be done either by using the 5 digit class number (if known) or searching by subject, catalog number etc. 

Students also have the option to use Schedule Builder to save time on generating schedule options that best fit their needs. 

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. 

Academic Department Contacts

Steps:

  • Obtain an unofficial transcript
  • Contact the academic department offering the course
  • Send your transcript and specify the course(s)
  • The department will review and, if approved, enter permission in SOLAR

Note: Permission must be entered in SOLAR—verbal or email approval alone is not sufficient.

Register for Classes

Enrollment can be done either in SOLAR or using the Schedule Builder feature. 

Enroll with Schedule Builder

  • Designed with student experience in mind, step by step guides on how to successfully plan and refine their schedules before enrolling. 
  • Guide for Using Schedule Builder

Enroll in SOLAR 

  • Click on the Enrollment menu, Add Classes; Make sure the enrollment is being conducted within the appropriate term 
  • Enter the 5 digit class number if known; use Class Search to find the course
  • Once the course has been added to the cart, click on “Proceed to Step 3 of 3”
  • View the course(s) to confirm they are accurate, then click on Finish Enrolling
  • Check the status of the enrollment transaction, a green checkmark indicates successful enrollment. A red X indicates an error occurred. 
  • Click “My Class Schedule” to confirm the enrollment is correct. 

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

Dropping a Class

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. Courses that would impact a students enrollment status (ex. dropping from full time to part time) can be performed until the individual course withdrawal deadline. 

Past course withdrawal deadlines, students will need to petition for late actions. 

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. 

  • Click on Enrollment menu, Drop Classes
  • Select the course(s) to be dropped, click on “Proceed to Step 2 of 3”
  • Review before taking the final step, then click Finish 

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