REPORTED ARE THE RESULTS OF A 1964 STUDY BY THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION'S COMMISSION ON PLANS AND OBJECTIVES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. ASSESSED WAS THE QUALITY OF UNITED STATES GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. THE OBJECTIVES WERE (1) TO BRING EARLIER QUALITATIVE STUDIES UP TO DATE, (2) TO WIDEN THE ASSESSMENT TO INCLUDE ALL MAJOR UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, AND (3) TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENTS IN THE INTEREST OF IMPROVING SUCH MEASUREMENTS FOR THE FUTURE. THE SURVEY ANALYZED DOCTORAL WORK AT 106 INSTITUTIONS. THE THREE MAJOR GROUPS OF PARTICIPANTS SELECTED FOR THE STUDY WERE--(1) DEPARTMENT CHAIRMEN, (2) DISTINGUISHED SENIOR SCHOLARS, AND (3) JUNIOR SCHOLARS WHO HAD COMPLETED THEIR WORK NOT MORE THAN TEN YEARS EARLIER. THE SAMPLE WAS WEIGHTED BY SIZE OF DEPARTMENT AS MEASURED IN DOCTORATES AWARDED DURING THE LAST DECADE. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS USED FOR OBTAINING DATA. THE QUESTIONNAIRE REQUESTED JUDGMENT ON--(1) THE QUALITY OF GRADUATE FACULTY, (2) THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM, AND (3) THE PROBABLE CHANGES IN RELATIVE POSITIONS OF DEPARTMENTS IN THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS FOR 29 FIELDS REPRESENTING HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, PHYSICAL SCIENCES, AND ENGINEERING. THE SCHOOL RANKINGS OF THIS STUDY ARE REPORTED BY ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE AND COMPARED TO RATINGS OF PREVIOUS STUDIES. APPENDED ARE (1) RATINGS ON DOCTORAL PROGRAMS IN LINGUISTICS, (2) A NOTE ON DEPARTMENTS OF RUSSIAN, (3) DATA ON THE RELIABILITY OF THE RATING INSTRUMENT, (4) A QUESTIONNAIRE, AND (5) A LIST OF THE INSTITUTIONS INCLUDED IN THIS SURVEY. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR $3.00 FROM THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION, 1785 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. (DS)