In 1929, Quinnipiac, originally known as the Connecticut College of Commerce, was founded by Samuel W. Tator as a small business college awarding associate's degrees. Upon its name change in 1951 to Quinnipiac College, a name commemorating the early Indian settlers who made their home in and around the New Haven harbor area, Quinnipiac began offering the bachelor's degree and two decades later expanded its offerings to master's degrees.

Quinnipiac assumed administrative control of Larson College, a private women's college, in 1952. Quinnipiac relocated within New Haven as expansion in enrollment and curriculum demanded, and in 1966 moved to its current campus in Hamden. In August 1995, the American Bar Association fully accredited Quinnipiac to award the Juris Doctor degree through its School of Law and the Quinnipiac School of Law Center was dedicated later that year. Today, Quinnipiac enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 63 programs of study in business, education, health sciences, law, liberal arts and communications. To better reflect the quality and diversity of Quinnipiac's programs, Quinnipiac College changed its name to Quinnipiac University as of July 1, 2000. This change reaffirms Quinnipiac's long-standing mission of providing programs of academic excellence in a student-oriented environment.