Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) is the oldest public institution of higher education in Connecticut, and the largest of four regional universities that comprise the Connecticut State University (CSU) system. CCSU was established to prepare teachers for the common schools of the state in 1849 and became the sixth normal school in the United States. Its founder and first principal was Henry Barnard who later became the first U.S. Commissioner of Education. In 1933, the New Britain Normal School became Teachers College of Connecticut and began offering four-year baccalaureate degrees. In 1955, a graduate school was established and in 1959 the institution's name was changed to Central Connecticut State College (CCSC). CCSC became Central Connecticut State University by action of the Board of Trustees in 1983.

Currently CCSU enrolls approximately 6,000 full time and 6,000 part-time students. Graduate enrollments are slightly under 2,800 students, 400 of whom attend full time. The University believes that teaching is its primary function and that teaching, complimented by applied scholarship, can be used in partnership with the people and institutions of the Greater Hartford Metropolitan Region.