Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women has its roots in the Madrasa founded by the last Nawab of Carnatic, Ghulam Ghouse Khan Bahadur in the middle of the 18th century. In 1901, the Government purchased Umdah Bagh, the present campus, and elevated the Madrasa to the status of a College which was called the Mohameddan Arts College. The main building (which stands even today) was opened on 29th November 1934 by Lord Erskine, the then Governor of Madras.

From 1938, the College admitted non-Muslims to the extent of 25 per cent. During the academic year 1948-49, the institution was renamed as Government Arts College and admission was thrown open to all. In 1974, it was renamed yet again by the Government of Tamil Nadu as Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women in honour of the prominent freedom fighter and philanthropist, Janab Ibrahim Sahib who is popularly known as Quaid-E-Millath. At that time, the college offered five Undergraduate Courses and a few hundred students were enrolled. The College is located in a sprawling 30 acres campus and still retains many of the old colonial style buildings and a vast playground.

The semester system was introduced during the Academic Year 2003-04 for both UG and PG programs. Consequent to the grant of Autonomy in 2004-05, the College designs its own syllabi and offers a Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) to UG and PG students. In June 2007 the College was elevated to Grade I Level. At present, the College offers 13 UG programs in Arts, Sciences and Commerce, 11 PG programs, 5 M.Phil. and Seven Ph.D. programs. It caters to the needs of 4,267 students, most of whom are first-generation learners benefitting the college Motto- ’Endeavour to Enlighten’. Our college has been successfully registered and updated information to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) and also registered , in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Our Final year students’ are benefitted by attending training program in Naan Mudalvan Scheme initiated by the Government of Tamil Nadu to acquire skills for placement. Training Program in two sectors Like Banking & Financial Services, Insurance and Logistics for UG Students is provided in Offline mode and TCS iON Provides online coourses for both UG & PG Computer Science Students.

To enhance their academic achievements, students enroll themselves for Entrepreneurship Development Courses conducted by the government agencies as a part of Soft skill programmes through RUSA- Vocational Courses Schemes. As a part of the curriculum, Training in Soft Skills and Computer Literacy Programme has been introduced. Part IV subjects - EVS- Environmental Studies (2004), NME- Non Major Electives (2007), VE- Value Education (2007), Soft Skills (2008) - were introduced to promote social responsibility and employability of the students. All academic programmes are designed and periodically updated on the basis of internal and external feedback. Nominees from various departments look after various administrative functions such as, Council of Heads, UGC Committee, Library Committee, PWD Committee, Admission Committee, Hostel Committee, Sports Committee, Examination Committee, Anti Ragging & Sexual Harassment Committee, Discipline Committee, Student Welfare Committee, Students’ Academic Audit Cell, IQAC and Grievance Redressal Cell. Admissions to the College as well as the fee structure are as per the rules laid down by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The College Prospectus is updated every year, providing details of the courses offered, scholarships available and the fees applicable to prospective students. The academic handbook facilitates the co-ordination and planning of the academic programmes.

Salient features of the Faculty Achievement include : seven Major Research Projects, eighteen Minor Research Projects, twenty eight Awards, Research Publications, Expertise as University Nominees, Members of the Board of Studies, Book Reviewers, Governing Body Members and Resource Persons for Conferences, Seminars and Workshops, Chairperson in international & National Conferences and related activities. At present, the College consists of thirty four M.Phil., and seventeen Ph.D., Supervisors. Faculty members have participated in a number of Orientation/Refresher Courses, Seminars and Workshops. Seven teachers have been deputed to the FDP under the UGC XII Plan. The faculty members of the College have participated and presented research papers at State, National and International Conferences and Seminars and also contributed articles for publication in National and International Journals. Some of the faculty members have also published books. Every year various Seminars and Workshops are being organized in the College. Four students and two staff of our college have visited a few Universities abroad, under the ’Study Abroad Programme’ sponsored by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The College provides free internet access at its Network Resource Centre as well as in the Library for both students and faculty members. The library has over 73,000 books in the General and Department Libraries and every year this number is increasing. The ’Digital Library’ concept has been initiated at a cost of Rs.1.08 lakhs and a Language Laboratory with 10 computer terminals has been established at a cost of Rs.5.56 lakhs. Several scholarships are available to the students on the basis of Socio-Economic Category, Medium of Instruction, Chief Minister’s Endowment for SC/ST, Tamil Nadu Educational Trust, Mauritius Cultural Exchange and First Graduate in the family. From this academic year (2022-23) our College students are availing monthly financial aid from Government of Tamil Nadu through "Pudhumai Penn" Scheme which is provided to all girl students who have studied in Government School from 6th Standard to 12th standard to encourage Higher Education.

The College has adequate facilities for Sports and Games and the students have won prizes in several tournaments conducted at the Zonal, District, University, State and National levels. Students also take part vigorously in various Extension Activities such as NSS, NCC, YRC and RRC. The Internal Quality Assessment Cell (IQAC), Student Counselling Cell, Parent Teacher Association and Old Students’ Association help the college to move in the path of continuous progress. Placement services are provided to the students. Career Guidance and Placement Cell has arranged for visits of the reputed firms to the institution like Info-Press Yellow Pages, HCL Technologies Limited, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Sutherland, SAE College of Engineering, HP-Bangalore, Wipro, Book Craft, Satyam Computers and ICICI Prudential and 1528 students have been placed in the last five years. Enviro Club has been started in the College during the year 2012 and it organizes awareness programmes on ’Save Environment’ for the students. Women Development Cell has its own merits and strives to work for the welfare and the upliftment of women. The LEO Club is a pride of the college, which is responsible for the makeovers of the college apart from instilling students’ personality enhancement.

The entire faculty of this esteemed institution (including teaching and non-teaching) is committed to the cause of serving women’s higher education and empowerment and striving hard to make this a ’Centre of Excellence’.