Welcome to the Department of Economics at the University of Oklahoma—Boomer Sooner!
We’re delighted that you are visiting our website. Whether you are a current student, prospective student, friend of the department, or one of our outstanding alums, faculty and staff, we’re glad you’re here. Please take a look around and learn more about who we are and what we do.
For more than 100 years, our department has played a vital role in Oklahoma and beyond, advancing ideas that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges—from poverty and inequality to environmental sustainability, economic development, international economics, energy needs, and public health. Today, with 22 faculty members representing a wide range of expertise, we are educating and mentoring the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, and government.
Our faculty are supported by more than 60 graduate students in our master’s and doctoral programs and dedicated staff and administrative team members. Together, we strive to create an inclusive, collaborative, and supportive community that reflects OU’s Lead On plan—changing lives through education, mentorship, and research. Whether you are a first-year student taking Principles of Economics or a doctoral student preparing your dissertation, you are a vital part of our mission.
Our faculty are among the most productive and impactful at OU, with distinguished professorships, national research grants, and awards for excellence in both teaching and scholarship. From large introductory classes to one-on-one faculty mentoring, we emphasize building strong foundations in economic theory, data analytics, quantitative methods, and original research. Undergraduates frequently engage in independent study projects with faculty, while graduate students design tailored research programs that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The results speak for themselves: over the past decade, our department has risen by more than 50 places in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, placing us firmly in the top third of all Ph.D.-granting economics departments for the first time in our history.
To our alumni, friends, and supporters—thank you for the many ways you have strengthened OU Economics. Your engagement and generosity are key to our progress, and we invite you to stay connected and continue supporting our efforts. This is an exciting moment for the department, and I am honored to serve as chair as we build on this momentum.
Firat Demir
Interim Chair
David L. Boren Professor of Economics
