[6] The university offers recognized majors in Criminology, Journalism, Human Rights, and Communications and Public Policy.

These communities include the Wolastoqiyik / Maliseet, and the Mi'Kmaw, and Passamaquoddy / Peskotomuhkati Tribes / Nations, who signed peace treaties with the British Crown in the 1700s.

St. Thomas University traces its institutional origins to the establishment of a Catholic academy in the former community of Chatham, New Brunswick (now Miramichi) in the late nineteenth century.

Due to an influx of Irish immigration in northwestern New Brunswick, Chatham saw a need for more centers of education and religious instruction.

Officially opened in October 1860, St. Michael's Academy was inaugurated by Bishop James Rogers of the newly formed Diocese of Chatham.

[9] St. Michael's Academy catered to young English-speaking males in the Miramichi River Valley and the growing port town of Chatham.

English-speaking parishes and the college were transferred to the Diocese of Saint John with its seat in New Brunswick's major port city.

Headed by John James Deutsch, a professor and administrator from Queen's University, the commission recommended greater centralization and public funding in post-secondary education.

Not without controversy and animosity, St. Thomas University moved to the provincial capital and abandoned its secondary school curriculum.

The two institutions share facilities for their student unions, libraries, athletics, and a common heating plant and building maintenance services.