Quijano received a Bachelor's degree from the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM), where he enrolled in various courses on Latin American history, anthropology, sociology and law.

[2] He later obtained a Master's degree at the Latin American Social Sciences Institute (FLACSO) in Santiago de Chile.

[2] He subsequently returned to Lima to study for a PhD at the University of San Marcos, which he completed in 1964.

His PhD examined the emergence of rural-to-urban Indigenous migrants in Peru and the changing roles and contexts of ethnic identity in Latin America.

He published works on colonialism, politics, democracy, globalization and other social issues.