THE STRATIFICATION OF DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE HAS, FOR THE MOST PART, BEEN DETERMINED BY RATING SYSTEMS BASED ON THE OPINIONS OF CONCERNED EXPERTS AND BY MEASURING THE INFLUENCE OF CERTAIN DEPARTMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS. OPINIONS OF ACADEMICIANS, HOWEVER, ARE SUBJECTIVE AND THEREFORE LACK RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY. THEREFORE, ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN (1) THE PRESTIGE OF DEPARTMENTS AND (2) THE PUBLICATION PRODUCTIVITY OF FACULTY, A MEASURE OF QUALITY THAT HAS UNDERGONE SEVERAL TRANSITIONS RELATIVE TO PROCEDURES, JOURNAL SELECTION, AND CRITERIA FOR BOOKS PUBLISHED. IN THIS STUDY, DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM 170 ACADEMICIANS, PRACTITIONERS, AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, 11 GRADUATE INSTITUTIONS, AND 32 SCHOLARLY JOURNALS. ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT THE SUBJECTIVE STATUS RANK OF DEPARTMENTS IS STRONGLY DETERMINED BY THE PUBLICATION PRODUCTIVITY OF THE FACULTY. IN ADDITION, THERE IS ADEQUATE EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT A STRONG SOCIOLOGICAL BIAS CONTINUES TO PERMEATE THE DISCIPLINE OF CRIMINOLOGY. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD FOCUS ON THE EMPHASIS OF SOME SCHOOLS IN PLACING THEIR GRADUATES IN THE EDUCATIONAL RATHER THAN THE PROFESSIONAL FIELD AND SPECIFIC THEORETICAL APPROACHES SHOULD BE USED, ALONG WITH STUDY OF METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES OR SPECIFIC AREAS OF SUBSTANTIVE RESEARCH. IF CRIMINOLOGY IS TO ESTABLISH ITSELF AS A SEPARATE SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE, THEN SOME RESEARCH PRIORITY MUST BE GIVEN TO STUDYING THE ACADEMIC SETTING. TABLES, NOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LWM)