Just as important as the power of student activism to catalyze change on college campuses is the potential of Ethnic Studies and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) programs to create the conditions for college students to develop their consciousness of systemic injustices and capacities to engage in social justice activism. However, national discussions that focus on these intersections are not easy to find. In this article, the authors focus on how Ethnic Studies programs and curricula contribute to students fostering a critical consciousness or understanding of systemic social problems, as well as the agency and desire to address them.