Elsa Minerva Arroyo Lemus earned her bachelor's degree in History from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (FFYL) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also holds a degree in Restoration of Movable Cultural Property from the Manuel del Castillo Negrete National School of Conservation, Restoration, and Museography (ENCRYM) of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). She earned her master's and doctoral degrees in Art History from the FFYL, both with honors.

Between 2010 and 2014, she coordinated the Art Diagnostic Laboratory at the Institute of Aesthetic Research (IIE) of UNAM. In 2016, she joined the faculty of the Institute, where she is currently a Research Associate "C". She participates in the Performance Bonus Program for Full-Time Academic Staff of the General Directorate of Academic Personnel Affairs (dgapa) of the UNAM with level “B”, and belongs to the National System of Researchers of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) as a candidate.