Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Economics

Corporate body (Dalhousie University)

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Economics

• Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Science. Department of Economics (1966-1988)
• Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Science. Department of Economics and Sociology (1931-1966)

1931-

The Department of Economics and Sociology was established in 1931, with Russell Maxwell as its first department head. Maxwell was a University of King's College appointment from 1924, and in 1943 he was appointed full professor under the partnership agreement between Dalhousie University and King’s. Maxwell House, the three connected buildings in which the department is still located, was named for this professor, who is considered by the department as its founder. However, economics as a subject was taught in conjunction with history at Dalhousie since 1912; prior to that history and political economy were paired. The first Dalhousie appointment in economics was made in 1921, when Robert MacGregor Dawson was hired as a lecturer, and promoted the following year to assistant professor. In October 1966 sociology became its own department, and an independent economics department came under the Faculty of Science in 1988, when the Faculty of Arts and Science were separated.

The Department of Economics is located in Maxwell House on University Avenue on Dalhousie's Studley Campus.

The Department of Economics offers an undergraduate program of courses leading to a range of BA or BSc degrees, the science option having higher mathematics and statistics requirements. At a graduate level the department administers MA, MDE (Master of Development Economics) and PhD degrees. The department supports collaborative graduate student and faculty research across a range of topics through the Macroeconomics and Economic Development (MED) unit and the Social Policy, Health and Economics Research (SPHERE) unit. The Economics Department also regularly hosts seminars and public events and in 2021 is administering two joint programs in China, with Shandong University of Finance and Economics (SDUFE) in the city of Jinan in Shandong Province, and with Renmin University of China (RUC) in Beijing.

The basic statute relating to Dalhousie University is Chapter 24 of the Acts of 1863. This statute replaced earlier statutes, and the 1863 statute itself has been amended and supplemented several times over the years. The provisions of these various statutes provide for the establishment and regulation of the university, the membership of the Board of Governors and its rights and powers, the authority of senate for the internal regulation of the university (subject to the approval of the board), and various other matters.

The Department of Economics is within the Faculty of Science. In 2021 there are 21 full-time faculty, including professors and instructors, from among whom a limited-term chair is appointed, supported by three administrative staff members. The department also lists a small number of part-time instructors and adjunct professors from external institutions, as well as two China Program staff.

Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science (1988-)