Founded in 1934, the school is governed by the Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick (Ireland).

It is located in the heart of the city of Dehradun on the main thoroughfare Rajpur Road.

St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun celebrated the bicentenary of the Patrician Society and the school's 75th anniversary in 2009.

In 2004 St. Joseph's completed 70 years, to commemorate the occasion, the play ‘Peter Pan’ was staged.

[1] The school motto (Latin) is "Laborare Est Orare", which means "Work is Worship".

Till 1975, the school prepared students for the Senior Cambridge Examination for which, the answer scripts were sent to England.

Events such as Cultural Week (Confluence), the Sports-Day and the House Cup are held each year.

[4] The Cultural Week [5] is a three-day event in which the four houses of the school—Bergin, Donovan, Dooley, and Duffy—compete for the winners’ trophy.