In its first year it had 13 faculty with 171 full-time students at the Sachem High School in Ronkonkoma and 335 part-time students at Riverhead High School until what is now called the Ammerman campus opened in 1962 in the former Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium (originally built in 1912).

Many students transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete their baccalaureate degree after attending SCCC.

Suffolk is also partnered with Stony Brook University and typically allows students with a 3.0 GPA and 24 credit hours to transfer.

School officials deny a persistent rumor that the basement of the Kreiling Hall was used as a morgue noting that the walk-in refrigerators there were used for a cafeteria.

Men's Intercollegiate sports teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis.

In 2005 the women's soccer team was formed, where they placed first during the regular season in division III, region 15.

[8] Suffolk County Community College has student exhibition galleries on each of its three main campuses.

The Lyceum Gallery,[10] on the Eastern Campus features local and regional artists as well as student works.

Gallery West,[11] is located on The Michael J.Grant Campus and features an annual regional high school exhibition as well as student work.

SCCC has two honor societies, Phi Theta Kappa (ΦΘΚ) and Alpha Beta Gamma (ΑΒΓ).