The Department of Economics is as old as the University of Dhaka. Since its inception in 1921, it has been contributing in several areas of economics and other social sciences. The Department has a reputation for outstanding teaching and research and the faculty members have worldwide recognition and appreciation for their academic activities.. Many alumni of this Department are working in different government and non-government organizations in the country as well as in many reputed Universities of North-America, Europe and Australia.

An alumnus of the Department Professor Dr. Md. Yunus has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

At present, the Department has 41 faculty members specialized in a range of areas of economic interests. The Department of Economics has three consistent objectives: to provide the highest quality education to the students; to conduct pioneering research in economics; and to provide direction and service to our professional communities.

The Department offers an undergraduate degree programme leading to Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSS) and a graduate programme leading to Master of Social Sciences (MSS) in Economics. The BSS programme spans four years and the MSS spans one year. Besides, the department offers M.Phil. and Ph.D programmes in different branches of economics.