The University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics was created in 1998 when the Departments of Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, and Cognitive Science were combined. Research in the School of Informatics draws on these component disciplines and is interdisciplinary in nature. The school is especially well known for research in the area of computational linguistics, but is involved with many other areas. The school has a research staff of over 130 individuals, an academic staff of 75, and has around 250 graduate students enrolled.

The School of Informatics was awarded a 5*A in the UK government's HEFC Research Assessment Exercise, the highest rating of any computer science department in the country. In the world, the department is said to only be rivalled by Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

The Cowgate fire of December 2002 destroyed one of their buildings, and the renowned AI library. Space was quickly made available in the university's Appleton Tower as a replacement, but it is envisioned that by 2007 a new home for the school, named "The Forum", will be built in the George Square campus, on the present Crichton Street car park.