Determinants of faculty salary in prestigious versus less-prestigious departments: A comparative study of academic disciplines

This study examines the role of research performance and seniority in determining faculty salary in university graduate departments. Four fields were studied: chemistry, physics, political science, and sociology. Seniority was found to be positively related to the pay structure in most of these fields and in most of the prestige levels, though slightly more so in the social sciences. Overall, research performance dimensions were found to be the major predictors of salary. Articles are most effective in predicting salary in the physical sciences and least effective in the social sciences. The reverse is true regarding published books.The applicability of these findings to university administration is discussed and potential changes in the reward systems are elaborated.