The department was created at the mathematical faculty of Yaroslavl State University (YaSU) in 1981 as the department of applied information science and computer architectures. In 1986, when the faculty of information and computer science (ICS) was created, it became one of its three departments. The department received its present name in 1998.

The main priorities, which define the area of work of the department is training qualified specialists in the field of development and study of algorithms, ways of storing and processing information, designing applications and program complexes for solving a wide range of applied and system tasks for various computing platforms.

The department participates in the realization of a multi-level system of training specialists at the faculty of information and computer science. Almost half of the students who follow the course of Fundamental Information and Information Technologies undergo specialized training in this department. Besides, the department participates in training bachelors, specialists, and masters specializing in Applied Mathematics and Information Science and Applied Information Science in Economy, within a framework of which the professors of the department give lectures on information science, development and investigation of algorithms and a whole range of languages and technologies of programming.