Quinnipiac began as a small college in New Haven in 1929. In the early 1960s, Quinnipiac purchased land across from Sleeping Giant State Park, which is now the Mount Carmel Campus. Quinnipiac transitioned from a college to a university in 2000, and has since grown into a national university with eight schools and colleges and two additional campuses.

"Quinnipiac," pronounced (KWIN-uh-pe-ack), is an altered version of a Native American word. Theories differ on the word's exact meaning. Some sources, such as "The Quinnipiack Indians and Their Reservation," written in 1900, assert that the name Quinni-pe-auke means "long-water land or country" and that Quinnipiack means "people from the long-water land." Later sources claim the word Quinnipiac apparently derives from quinnuppin-uk, defined as "a turning point" or "to make a change in the direction of travel." Both definitions seem appropriate for Quinnipiac, which is near a long tidal river and which marks a turning point in students' live