Chicano studies, also known as Chicano/a studies, Chican@ studies, or Xicano studies originates from the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, and is the study of the Chicano and Latino experience. Chicano studies draws upon a variety of fields, including history, sociology, the arts, and Chicano literature. The area of studies additionally emphasizes the importance of Chicano educational materials taught by Chicano educators for Chicano students.

In many universities across the United States, Chicano studies is linked with other ethnic studies, such as black studies, Asian American studies, and Native American studies. Many students who have studied anthropology have also been involved in varying degrees of Chicano studies. Today, most major universities in areas of high Chicano concentration have a formal Chicano/a studies department or interdisciplinary program. Providing Chicano studies to Chicano students has helped these students find a community which offers a curriculum that is unique to their own heritage.

The establishment of Chicano studies in colleges and universities was in response to fundamental issues in the American educational system and how many Chicanos felt excluded from educational success in the United States. Specifically, one of the issues that led to the establishment of Chicano studies was how Mexican-Americans, and in turn the greater Latino community, were represented negatively in American history. An example where Mexican Americans were portrayed negatively in American history is during the 19th century, when the territories of New Mexico and Arizona were not allowed to become states until there were more people of European descent living there to balance out the Mexican Americans, who were thought of as lazy, talentless idlers. It also must be noted that these stereotypes have continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Additionally, Chicano scholars such as Felipe de Ortego y Gasca claim that Mexican Americans are not seen as vital parts of general American history, but neglect to remember that after historical treaties such as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, land originally belonging to Mexico has been a part of the United States for an extended period of time, and that those of Mexican descent have been "American" for over 160 years. Therefore, many Chicano scholars feel the need to have necessary programming that restructures the way in which Mexican-Americans are perceived in American education. Another reason for Chicano studies was that traditionally Mexican Americans had been exposed to "Western" culture and European history through the standard educational system, but those of European descent had never had to learn Mexican history or the history of Mexican Americans. Additionally, the little material the European-American community was taught about Mexican Americans was framed in the context of European-American narratives, in other words meaning that the historical focus was not placed on Mexican Americans and Mexican Americans were often portrayed negatively. For that reason, Chicano studies was created to combat traditional education that excludes Mexican-American history and furthers harmful stereotypes about Mexican Americans.

Furthermore, Chicano studies was created to ensure Chicano students have access to Chicano education that is taught by Chicanos. In addition to the exclusion of Mexican-American narratives in American education and the negative perceptions of Mexican Americans, professors and educators in higher education were rarely Chicano. Even at the nascency of Chicano studies, the first teachers of this material were the only Chicano professors at the institution. Therefore, another reason Chicano studies was implemented at colleges and universities was to ensure diversity in the faculty of higher education and to demonstrate to Chicano students that professional careers surrounding education can be an option for them as well.

Many Chicano scholars^[who?] agree that Chicano studies came about as a result of the Chicana@ student movements, whether they were in the form of protests, activism or just taking part in el movimiento, also known as the Chicano movement. Chicano studies was seen as a way to advance Mexican American perspectives on culture, history and literature. The major push for universities and colleges to include Chicano studies came within the context of the African-American civil rights struggle. During the 1960s, Mexican American educators demanded that colleges and universities address the pedagogical needs of Mexican American students. Scholar Rodolfo Acuña noted that this was especially important because Mexican American student populations grew significantly in the 1960s. In addition, many young people and students were becoming very politically active and began to organize for political causes. A student organization that grew out of the civil rights movements of the '60s was the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO), which began to work towards educational reform. MAYO was very active in promoting student walkouts in Texas and California to highlight problems that Mexican American students faced. As students became more organized, they began to develop "experimental colleges" where informal classes on topics important to the Chicano movement were taught.

In 1963, Manuel H. Guerra, professor at the University of Southern California and chair of the Mexican American Political Association's (MAPA) Education Committee, reported on "serious discriminatory policies and practices" at his university in relation to hiring Mexican Americans, especially considering that there had been an increase in the number of Mexican American students. According to scholar Rodolfo Acuña, serving Mexican American students without providing Mexican American faculty was considered a sort of colonialism and cultural assimilation. In addition, many Mexican American students were put at a disadvantage because speaking Spanish (even outside of class) was considered "degrading" or "un-American." Opportunities such as the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) helped increase the number of minorities entering colleges and universities. Educators and students alike began to visualize "an academic program that could serve and transform the Mexican American community," a program that would become Chicano studies and which was built by and for Chicanos.

In 1967, anthropologist Octavio Romano and Nick C. Vaca, in addition to graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, began to publish a Chicano studies journal called El Grito: A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought. Many of the ideas surrounding the formation of later Chicano studies programs stemmed from this publication. One major idea that was put forth in El Grito by its editors was that Mexican Americans, in contrast to other ethnic groups, have kept their Mexican-American culture intact and have "refused to disappear into The Great American Melting Pot." The consequence of this, said the editors, was that Mexican Americans were kept in an economically and politically impoverished state. Also in 1967, political scientist Ralph Guzmán conducted a study with the Los Angeles State College which laid the foundation for a national center of Mexican American studies at California State College, Los Angeles (CSCLA). Both Mexican American and Black Student Unions pressed CSCLA to have ethnic studies classes at this time.

The Plan de Santa Barbara is generally considered to be the manifesto of Chicano studies. Drafted in 1969 at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the plan emphasizes the need for education, and especially higher education to enact Chicano community empowerment. The Plan helped to "establish Chicana/o studies as an entity incorporated into the structures of academia." However, while the Plan articulated a need for education, it did not specify how to create a program of study. The Plan did, however, lead to the creation of the Chicano Studies Institute in 1969. Another important document in Chicano studies was also produced in 1969. In March 1969, the Chicano Youth Conference held in Denver produced a plan written by Chicano poet, Alurista. It was called El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán (The Spiritual Plan of Aztlán) and it contains a concept of "ethnic nationalism and self-determination." The idea of the mythic homeland of the Aztec people, Aztlán, is one that unifies the United States and Mexico and correspondingly, united Mexican Americans with a sense of nationalism.