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Get to know VIU. As a teaching university and a research university, we offer a unique experience to students.

About VIU Why VIU

About VIU

Why VIU?

Explore where VIU is going

The Strategic Plan builds on our commitment to diverse learners and draws on our connection to the community.

Programs Programs

Explore a wide range of program offerings and learning services. Choose from degrees, vocational training, certificates and more.

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Programs

Learning Services

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Admissions & Aid Admissions & Aid

Discover how to apply to VIU and get more information about tuition and financial aid.

Admissions Tuition and Aid

Admissions

Tuition and Aid

How to become a student

Make your VIU application successful by following these steps to becoming a student.

Steps to become a student

Student Life Student Life

Make the best of your time at VIU. Get involved in campus events and enjoy island adventures.

Student Life Student Services

Student Life

Student Services and Support

Get ready for the new student orientation

Attend in-person and online events, explore campus and connect with your professors and soon-to-be classmates!

Support VIU Support VIU

Connect with other VIU alumni and learn about the impact of donor generosity at VIU.

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VIU Alumni

VIU Donors

Your support means so much to VIU students

Our donors fund over 2000 scholarships, awards, and bursaries each year.

Research Research

Discover how VIU's interdisciplinary research is making a real-world impact.

Research

Research and Creative Activity

Explore the research highlights. Includes recent publications, ground-breaking studies and more.

Research Reports

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aerial view of Building 200 at VIU's Nanaimo campus

News

VIU in the News

Latest Stories

three students holding red heart cookies and a thank you sign

VIU Foundation’s Giving Tuesday campaign raises more than $480,000 for students in need

December 4, 2025 - 04:09pm

Brighton sitting on a wooden walkway

Queen Elizabeth Scholars from Tanzania Learn Lessons in Resilience

July 7, 2021 - 11:30am

Portrait shot of Charlton Mapayi, VIU alum, in his scrubs

Starting Over and Making a Difference in Canada

July 3, 2021 - 06:30pm

Dr. Amanda Wager, wearing a green shirt and black blazer, stands in front of a white wall.

Indigenous Youth Exploring Issues through VIU Art-based Literacy Project

June 23, 2021 - 02:00pm

Samantha Good sits in her excavation square during the dig she attended in the Drimolen Palaeocave system.

VIU Grad Discovers Two-Million-Year-Old Skull while Attending Field School in South Africa

June 14, 2021 - 01:30pm

Genevieve van der Voort examines insect samples with a microscope.

VIU Undergraduate Student Publishes Research Paper in Peer-Reviewed Journal

June 9, 2021 - 10:30am

Portrait shot of Shawn O'Keefe

Alum of the Month: Shawn O’Keefe

June 4, 2021 - 09:30am

VIU Blog

Find out what's going on at VIU!

VIU students in the quad at the Nanaimo campus

New entrance scholarship process gives future VIU students more certainty

December 16, 2025

Record amount of funding available for entrance scholarships

Room for rent sign in a door

Keeping your room while away - and saving the rent

November 30, 2022 By Michael Witcomb, Off-Campus Housing Coordinator

A guide to subletting and assigning your housing

Angelina Jaeger stands in front of a vine covered wall.

Gaining a global research perspective

November 30, 2022 By Rachel Stern

Angelina Jaeger snags spot in prestigious summer research internship program

A wooden cutout of a house with four stacks of coins behind it.

How do government policies affect housing affordability?

November 30, 2022

Katarina Litva examines housing issues in Louisville, Kentucky

Group photo of Tom, Tim, Jenn, Julie and Joseph

Supporting students in need on Giving Tuesday

November 25, 2022 By Jenn McGarrigle

The impact of giving for one employee

Sarah Osborne sitting in a boat holding a fish and smiling at the camera

My semester abroad in Norway

November 24, 2022 By Sarah Osborne

What it’s like to learn and explore across the Norwegian landscape

Culinary arts students hold different seafood items

Research help, special deals and money management 💰

November 23, 2022

VIU Student Pulse News: November 23, 2022

Statements & Announcements

Portal magazine's 30th anniversary cover pops with orange and yellow bubbles

VIU's Portal Magazine Celebrates 30 Years of Literary Excellence

April 26, 2021 - 10:45am

City of Nanaimo Signs MOU with Vancouver Island University

April 20, 2021 - 03:15pm

Man holding camera

VIU Media Highlights: March 30 - April 12, 2021

April 12, 2021 - 11:30am

A student wearing a green dress stands in front of audience members and discusses their research during the 2019 CREATE Conference.

VIU Students Presenting Research and Creative Activity during CREATE Conference

April 8, 2021 - 09:45am

VIU Professor Receives Province’s Medal of Good Citizenship

April 6, 2021 - 03:30pm

Man holding camera

VIU Media Highlights: March 16-29, 2021

March 29, 2021 - 07:30pm

VIU in the News

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