Economics is a diverse and fascinating course of study that can open one up to many different opportunities. It prepares one to deal with issues in a variety of fields, including business, law, accounting, politics and history. For an individual, Economics is important as it helps to sharpen his or her ability to critically assess information/data, and deliver disciplined and well-structured arguments. Since, it plays a key role in all aspects of life, it becomes naturally an important subject worth knowing more about.

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When the College came into existence in 1952, Economics was offered initially as a subject in the Intermediate Course. Later in 1954 an Under-Graduate Programme in Economics was introduced to prepare men for the challenging and rewarding career in administration, business and law. In 1973, vertical growth occurred in the form of an addition of a two-year Post-Graduate Programme in Economics that was offered to impart advanced knowledge in the subject.

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The post-graduate department acquired the research department status on obtaining the affiliation for the full-time and part-time Ph.D. programme in 1998. However, even before the department was officially declared as a full-fledged research department, two of the faculty members were guiding and supervising Ph.D. candidates on an individual basis. Another milestone in the glorious history of the department was the addition of M.Phil. Degree Programme with both full-time and part-time options in 2003. This is the year which also saw the admission of girl students into all different courses including Economics. Today, the department having been rechristened as Post-Graduate & Research Department of Economics, has two sections of under-graduate degree course, one section of post-graduate course and two research degree programmes with both full-time and part-time options, all affiliated to the University of Madras.

As on date 419 Under-Graduate students, 21 Post-Graduate students are on rolls. Through the Department 27 Ph.D. Scholars and 26 M.Phil. scholars have acquired their Research Degrees so far.