History of the Department of Economics

The Department of Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno, was founded in 1911, making it one of the oldest units in the university. Originally part of the College of Arts & Science, we awarded our first B.A. in Economics in 1919, and our first B.S. in Economics in 1924. We became part of the College of Business in 1956, granted our first M.A. in 1966 and our first M.S. two years later.

The Ph.D. in Economics was added to the department in 2010, and is the first and only economics doctoral program in the state. We are ranked as one of the Best Economics Schools for economics graduate study by U.S. News & World Report. About half of our Ph.D. graduates get academic positions, and the rest find good jobs in government and business.

Our mission is to provide high quality education through our degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, undertake cutting-edge economics research, and assist public and private decision makers in practical ways. Consistent with our university’s land grant mission, we serve as a resource to the community through applied scholarship, outreach programs, and economic development.

Our department has affiliation with two universities outside the U.S., Warsaw School of Economics and University of Ljubljana, as part of the agreements between our college and those universities. We also have an agreement with Guinn Center for Policy Priorities to collaborate in research projects and student internships.

We currently have 16 full-time faculty members, plus we are the home of three additional tenured faculty with other full-time assignments. Our faculty also work with the Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station.