Algoma University specializes in liberal arts, sciences, management and professional degree programs.

[7] The original vision for Shingwauk Hall in the early 19th century came from Chief Shingwauk, the chief of the Garden River Ojibway people, as he felt "that the future Ojibway needed to learn the white man's academic method of education in order to survive in what was becoming a 'predominately non-native world with non-native values'".

Students in the residential school system endured poor living conditions, physical and emotional abuse and segregation from their own family members.

The year 1971 marked a significant turning point in Algoma University College's history in respect to both program and facilities.

In May, in recognition of the rapid maturation of the post-secondary institution, the Department of University Affairs approved Algoma University College's request to offer second-and third-year level courses, thereby giving the institution the ability to offer full-time, three-year programming in Bachelor of Arts degrees.

The Shingwauk Project was founded in 1979, which laid the foundation for the reaffirmation of a positive and respectful relationship between the post-secondary institution and First Nations people.

Algoma University College also received its own emblem, the Thunderbird, as designed by Dora de Pedery-Hunt in 1972.

Algoma University College and Shingwauk Education Trust (SET) / Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG) signed the Covenant, which demonstrated the two parties' agreement to work together alongside each other in the pursuit of their goals to provide quality education to Anishinaabe students and students of all cultural backgrounds.

After the government passed the Algoma University Act, it was given royal assent by David Onley, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, on June 18, 2008.

[21] McLellan, who had been disbarred in 2009,[22] and served jail time starting in 2010 for a 22-month fraud sentence,[23] taught at the college until 2021.

[24] A 2022 Ontario Auditor General report cited Algoma as "overburdened by debt in 2016/17" the university began a strategy of mass enrolment of Indian international students at its Brampton campus.

[5] In 2021, Algoma began examining the campus for unmarked graves from the time as the Shingwauk Indian Residential School.

[43] Algoma University offers bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in disciplines such as biology, business, economics, computer science, community development, English, geography, history, psychology, social work, sociology, political science, music and fine arts.

LEAP invites Grade 11 and 12 students from the Peel region to spend a semester on the Algoma University campus in Brampton in an on-campus state-of-the-art classroom, providing them with the opportunity to take two university courses (six credits) while they complete their high school requirements.

Concurrently with Algoma's charter as an independent university, Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, an Anishinaabe cultural and linguistic federated school opened in the fall of 2008.

It is connected on the first, second and third levels by links to the newer East, West and North-West wings that house further classrooms, research space and offices.

[51] The building opened its doors to students in September 2011 and was officially named the Convergence Centre in a ceremony including David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, in August 2012.

The George Leach Centre (GLC), the home of the Algoma Thunderbirds, is located on the university's campus.

The gymnasium, or field house, features three regulation court surfaces, which accommodate a wide range of athletic activities such as badminton, basketball, volleyball, and tennis.

Housing over 96 students, Algoma Dormitory is furnished with an open concept area, a single bed, wardrobe and a desk with a high speed wireless internet connection.

[55][56] Algoma University at Timmins offers bachelor's degrees in Social Work and Community Development on the campus of Northern College.

Prior to making the move to the OUA and CIS in 2013, the Algoma Thunderbirds competed in the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA) in the sports of basketball, curling, and indoor soccer.