It's an elite program within a non-prestigious university. It goes to show how concepts like prestige are truly performative in nature.

Even at my Ivy League alma mater, a traditional public school like UIUC or UW was well regarded by most departments, but society at large pedestalled my alma mater to an unrealistic degree.

Pierre Bourdieu tends to dig deeper into the sociology of elitism, and is in my opinion a must-read.