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 honours and masters graduates and also quit 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 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 development countries and many other have been gainfully employed important position there. A good number of its graduates have been successful in politics and have become ministers and law maker.

The Department started its academic programme during the session 1945-55 on the premises of Rajshahi College. It cames to the present campus in1959 and in 1961 the Department was located in Physics Building. In 1965 the department was housed in its present location in 2nd Arts Building which has later been named as Momtazuddin Kala Bhaban.

The Department has been allocated five class rooms in the Momtazuddin Kala Bhaban. These rooms are 204, 305A, 306, 404, 408. It has a rich seminar library with sufficient books which is located in the ground floor of this building. Some computers with internet connection have been furnished in one corner of the seminar library as to help the students have access to information world.

At present the Department has near about 600 students of which 330 are male and 270 are female students. The faculty of the Department is comprised of highly qualified teachers having recognition and widespread specialization. The staff comprises of dedicated employees who take day to day care of the affairs of the students and teachers of the Department.

The Department has a 4-year B.S.S. (Honours) degree oriented course and a 1-year M.S.S. degree oriented course. The -year B.S.S. (Honours) course is an undergraduate one and is recognize by the government of Bangladesh as the terminal degree. The course is designed so as to encompass all the major branches of the discipline. The programme consist of 30 courses and carries a total of 3000 marks.
Candidates passing the  B.S.S. (Honours) examination may get themselves admitted in M.S.S. programme. The programme carries a total of 600 marks. There are three compulsory papers and two optional papers for the students of non-thesis group.
The thesis group students have to take three compulsory papers, one optional paper and have to write a thesis.
The Department also have M.Phil and PhD programme under which the candidates are required to take some non credit examinations and they are to write a thesis under the supervision of a designated supervisor from the Department. From 2006-07 session examination evaluation in the BSS (Honours) programmme has been switched to the grading system. Under the system the result is publised on the basis calculating cumulative grade point average (GPA). The total cedit for the BSS (Honours) course is 120.

The Centre for Economic Studies (CES), Department of Economics, University of Rajshahi, was established in 1989 for conducting professional academic research on various aspects of the economy of Bangladesh and the developing countries and exploring different pertinent conceptual issues in Economics. It is comprised of the director and 5 members from the teaching staff of Economics Department.
It is Located  in the ground floor of Momtazuddin Kala Bhaban.

The Departmental Economic Association publishes a journal entitled Bangladesh Economic Studies. It is a refereed journal and contains research based and analytical papers of the teachers of the department. The journal also entertains papers from academics of other universities and research organizations.

Executive committee of The Departmental Economic Association consists of the President (who is ex officio, the Chairman of the Department), Treasurer (a teacher of the Department) and students` representatives from different classes. Economic Association organizes indoor and outdoor games and cultural activities of the students. It arranges reception of the Fresher and farewell to the outgoing students.

The Department directly supervises three scholarship/ benevolent funds. Sultan and Sufia Ahmed scholarship endowed by Dr. Sultan Ahmed, ex teacher and alumnus of the Department, Abdul Jabbar Khan Benevolent Fund endowed by Mr. Abdul Jabbar Khan, ex teacher and alumnus of the Department, and M A Rahman student scholarship endowed by professor M Abdur Rahman, ex teacher and alumnus of the Department, are distributed  among the students on the basis of merit and/or pecuniary position of the students. Hamida Haque Foundation scholarship endowed by th first Head of the Department Dr. M T Haque (deceased) is distributed by the University among the students of Economics and Commerce on the basis of merit. Moreover, some other scholarships are awarded to the students of Economics by other organizations as part of their programme of scholarship to the university students in general. The Department has a ‘Poor Fund’ which is created from the Association fees collected from the students. This ‘Poor Fund’ is used to help the really poor and needy students periodically though the amount of help is very modest.

The liberation war of Bangladesh is the supreme turning point of our nation. Some teachers and many students and ex students of then Department actively participated in the liberation war in various capacities. Of them, Professor Mohommad Eunus was murdered by elements of anti-liberation forces in 2004.