Department (starship section)
Aboard Federation starships, ship duties among the Starfleet crew were delegated to individual departments, each headed by a department head. () These included science departments. (; ) Each department contained members of respective Starfleet divisions.

After Charles Tucker became chief engineer of , Captain Hernandez received two transfer requests from his former department aboard . ()

In the alternate reality , after becoming acting captain, ordered all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. ()

In 2266, Captain James T. Kirk of the  requested of Leonard McCoy that he find someone in his department with psychiatric and penology experience, if possible. ()

After the Enterprise encountered a black star in 2267, Captain Kirk requested that all departments tie in with the record computer. () 

In 2267, faced with anomalous aging at the Gamma Hydra IV, Kirk became concerned about Romulan involvement and in a staff meeting asked everyone to check out everything in their own departments, no matter how remote or far-fetched. ()

Aboard the , Captain Picard, or William Riker often requested all departments to prepare reports, or to ready themselves for an impending crisis. In 2364, Picard expressed his wish to have all departments prepared for a warp 6 trip into the Neutral Zone. () In 2370, after a drill, Riker requested all departments to submit drill evaluation reports. () The same year, Picard requested a battle readiness report from all departments in response to what he believed was a potentially dangerous threat from the Romulans. ()

In 2369, Amanda Rogers was selected for an internship aboard the Enterprise-D. Doctor Beverly Crusher arranged to have her work in all the major departments aboard the ship while she was there in order to help her get an idea of what field she was most interested in. ()

After Captain Edward Jellico took command of the Enterprise-D the same year, he made major changes in every department on the ship. ()

Later that year, Nella Daren became the new department head of stellar sciences aboard the Enterprise-D. In her new role, she was very forthright in her requests for ship resources, such as access to the main sensor array, even as other departments were waiting to use the array. ()

In 2370, after Riker was informed of a fluctuation in the ship's power systems, he authorized a diagnostic while taking the task of informing other departments about the issue upon himself. ()

On , at least thirteen departments were reported to Chief of security Tuvok every day. ()

While Voyager was dealing with a singularity in 2371, Captain Janeway ordered that all departments run complete system diagnostics. ()

In 2375, while crossing a desolate region named , Voyager first officer Chakotay ordered all departments to create an energy reserve. ()

Also in 2375, on the eve of commencing Operation Fort Knox, Janeway noted in her captain's log that all departments were standing by. ()

Specific departments
Astrosciences ()
Engineering department (, )
Exobiology department ()
Soil department ()
Stellar sciences ()
Medical department ()
Life sciences department (, , )
 (, )
Weapons department ()

Starfleet
Spacecraft sections