Stephanie Beyer’s talk will focus on her dissertation centered on “Homo-Prestigious? University Status and the Academic Career”. Rankings have a long tradition in the US higher education system that has been described as a caste system in which faculty is recruited from the most elite universities. Prestigious divisions do not only shape the institution itself but also the visions of academics. Stephanie Beyer analyzes how departmental prestige affects the perception of professors and PhD students. She investigates how distinctions among institutions shape different career trajectories and academic perceptions: their views on autonomy, rankings, and competition for funding. Beyer applies a mixed methods approach using geometrical data analysis and interviews conducted with faculty and PhD-candidates from different prestigious departments. Join the conversation as we discuss university status and the academic career.