The Department of Economics which made significant progress ever since its establishment and was selected by the UGC under Departmental Research Support Programme (DRS) in 1991 for its further growth. Subsequently the Department of Economics was converted into a School of Economics with Seven Departments namely Mathematical Economics, Econometrics, Industrial Economics. Agricultural Economics, Environmental Economics, Rural Development Economics and Human Resource Development Economics in the year 1991.

        The major breakthrough of the then Department lies in its pioneering work of introducing a Post-Graduate Course namely, M.SC., Mathematical Economics and infact the Department of Economics of Madurai Kamaraj University was the trend setter for this course in the whole of South India in 1968. In addition two courses M.Phil (1976) and M.A; Economics (1977) were introduced in the Department. The students who had their studies in the School of Economics are now working in various Universities, Colleges, Research institutes and Financial Institutions in India and abroad. Some of them are working in foreign Universities as faculty members. The products of the School also work in Planning Commission, Reserve Bank, Department of Statistics of the State and Central Governments. The School has hosted the Tenth Indian Econometric Conference in 1970, the All India Labour Economics conference in 1988, the conference of the Association of Economists of Tamil Nadu twice and various workshops and seminars at state and national levels.

        The School of Economics has eleven faculty members and it has produced around 500 M.Phil., and more than 80 Ph.D. The faculty members have undertaken several major and minor projects on themes of local and national relevance funded by UGC, ICSSR and other agencies.

        The first Head of the Department of Economics was the eminent scholar
Dr. D.Bright Singh who later on became the full time member of the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission. Eminent Economists like R.G.D. Allen, P.R.Brahmananda, Raja J.Chelliah, K.L.Krishna, Marc Nerlove Vaithyanathan have visited the School.The School is now in DRS Phase III (SAP) of the UGC.