The Gujarat University was conceived in the nineteen twenties in the minds of public-spirited and learned men like Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Acharya Anandshankar B. Dhruva, Dada Saheb Mavlankar, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and many others. However, the University could come into existence only after the achievement of independence.In 1949, the University was incorporated under the Gujarat University Act of the State Government 'as a teaching and affiliating University.' This was done as a measure of decentralization and reorganization of University education in the then Province of Bombay.

During the course of its life of more than five decades, the University has seen the establishment of seven more Universities which were carved out of the jurisdiction of the Gujarat University, viz., Sardar Patel University, Saurashtra University, Bhavnagar University, South Gujarat University, Gujarat Ayurveda University, Gujarat Agricultural University and North Gujarat University. Even then, the Gujarat University is the largest university in the state catering to the needs of higher education of more than two lakh students scattered over 235 colleges, 15 recognised institutions and 24 approved institutions. There are 34 Post-Graduate University departments and 221 P.G. Centres.

The Department of Mathematics from its inception in 1959 has grown into an active centre of quality teaching and research. Today it stands as one of the leading departments in the country, well known for its excellence in teaching and research. The Department runs two years MSc Program in Mathematics. The faculty members of the Department are actively carrying out high-quality research in different areas of pure, applied, and computational Mathematics, Operation Research, and Statistics. The research activity in the department is well DST-FIST, UGC, CSIR, and ISRO and the number of research projects funded by national agencies are in progress in the department. The faculty is ranked in TOP-2% worldwide. 

Department of Applied Mathematical Science, Actuarial Science and Analytics, since its establishment in 2020, has been engaged in teaching and research in basic and applicable mathematics. This Department has been established to impart high quality education in Mathematics to the undergraduate as well as postgraduate students for helping them to solve challenging problems by using Mathematical theories and models. The department aims to create a strong foundation of Mathematical concepts and use creative, logical and analytical abilities in applying those concepts to real life problems. Along with the teaching responsibilities, the faculty members are actively involved in research. The department offers Ph.D. program in various research areas of Applied Mathematical Science.