The Department of Economics started functioning from 1954-55 with other six Departments.
Initially, the Department started its academic activities in Rajshahi College led by Mr. Md. Tozammel Hoque. At that time, there were three other teachers namely Mr. Md. Moazzimul Haque, Mr. R.H. Khondoker, and Mr. Shamsul Islam. In 1961, the Department shifted from Rajshahi College to First Science Building in Rajshahi University Campus. In 1965, it shifted to Momtaz Uddin Kala Bhaban, where it is still functioning.
The Department started with a two-year honors program, which was converted to a three-year honors program later. Since 1998, the Department introduced a four-year honors program along with a one-year Master’s program. The M. Phil and Ph.D. programs are also run by the Department. Several students have earned these degrees from the Department.
At present, the Department has 600 students and twenty-three teachers. The Department is maintaining a good range of extracurricular activities comprising sports and other cultural and literary activities.
Department of Economics is one of the oldest departments of Rajshahi University. It started its academic programme under the name “Department of Economics and Commerce” during the session 1954-55 with Dr. T. Haque as the head of the department. During this long period of time, the department has produced a huge number of honors and masters graduates and also quite a good number of M.Phil. and Ph.Ds. From the very beginning, the department was endowed with highly gifted economists in its teaching staff. Later on, the department itself has produced scores of highly qualified economists who have proved their worth and earned fame and reputation in the academic field both at the national and international level. The department has also been enriched with some qualified academics in its teaching staffs from other universities at various times. The department has humble modest to note that most of its graduates have been gainfully employed in various spheres of national economic activities. Many have climbed to the higher rungs of civil administration and administration of justice. Some ex-teachers of the department were involved in the formulation of Five Year Plans and national economic policy. Some have been leading the national economic research institution. Some ex-students and ex-teachers of the department served in highly prestigious international economic organizations like the World Bank, UNDB, ADB, IRDP, etc. as economist or advisor. Some thought-provoking and serious books on economics and society have written by some alumni and ex-teachers of the department have been published from the world famous and prestigious national publishing houses. Some ex-teachers and the alumni of the department are avant-garde intellectuals of the country. Quite a few have been teaching in the prestigious universities in developing countries and many others have been gainfully employed important position there. A good number of its graduates have been successful in politics and have become ministers and lawmaker.”