The Starfleet Sciences Division was one of the original three Starfleet divisions created in October 2135 through Starfleet Operations Order #2.  The division was operated as an internal office of Starfleet Operations until November 2142, when the Sciences Division became an independent branch of Starfleet.  The Starfleet Sciences Division is headquartered at the Zephram Cochrane Spaceflight Center, specifically the Starfleet Research Center which is annex of the spaceflight center.