The Department of Political Economy at the University of Toronto was founded in 1888. From 1892 to 1924 it was called the Department of Political Science, though its Head was still called "Professor of Political Economy". It was formally renamed the Department of Political Economy in 1924. In 1982 it was split into the Department of Economics and the Department of Political Science.
The recent rankings compares the department with other departments worldwide placing the Department of Economics in the top 20 departments worldwide and 1st in Canada.
Chair: Ettore Damiano
Address: 150 St. George Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G7, Canada
General Inquiries: 416-978-4622.
Economics is by far the most popular discipline among undergraduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Nearly seventy percent of all students take at least one course in economics during their undergraduate studies, and students earn more credits in economics courses than in courses in any other discipline. The Department of Economics offers a wide variety of programs to undergraduate students, ranging from the Economics Minor, Major and Specialist Programs to various joint Programs, including the very popular Specialist Program in Commerce and Finance, offered jointly with the Rotman School of Management.
Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies: Robert Gazzale.
Information about the programs is available on the undergraduate page.
The Department offers a variety of M.A. and Ph.D. programs. In any year, a total of about fifty new M.A. students and fifteen new Ph.D. students are enrolled. Total graduate student enrollment is approximately one hundred and there are about fifty members in our graduate faculty. The size of our program allows us to offer a wide variety of courses and specializations. Our programs attract a cosmopolitian collection of students from across Canada and all parts of the globe.
Most graduate students in the Department are either in an eight month M.A. program based on course work only or a Ph.D. program with a three year residency requirement. The detailed requirements for the various graduate programs, along with admissions information are described on the graduate page.
Associate Chair, Graduate Studies: Robert McMillan.
The Department of Economics is located in Max Gluskin House, named for a 1936 University of Toronto graduate, Max Gluskin. The Department has been in this location since 1982 except for 2005–2008 when the buildings were renovated and expanded. The buildings include the William Crowther house, built for a Toronto merchant in 1889. For a short history of the house, with pictures including some from the middle of the 20th century, see the file "History of Max Gluskin House" [pdf]. For the story of the 2005–08 renovation, including pictures of the demolition and the construction and the story of the gift by Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky-Gluskin that enabled the full renovation project, see the file "Economics Renovation Project 2003-2008" [pdf].