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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

Megan Fortune in front of green foliage

Alumni Spotlight on Megan Fortune

July 13, 2025 - 09:30am

Alumni spotlight: Amy Armstrong and Vanessa Young

April 13, 2023 - 12:15pm

Tchadas Leo portrait

Journalist wins award for Indigenous-focused podcast

April 6, 2023 - 08:30am

Jacob Frankel holds up his phone to a sala bush. The green leaves appear on his phone screen.

Nature lovers asked to head outdoors and become citizen scientists during BioBlitz

April 4, 2023 - 12:15pm

Joseph Nowlan, Scott Britney and Dr. Spencer Russell, wear white lab coats, while looking at a Petri dish.

VIU researcher developing better tools to detect and manage bacterial infections in salmon

March 27, 2023 - 01:45pm

Trevor Ballyntine smiling at the camera

Alum of the month: Trevor Ballantyne

March 24, 2023 - 12:15pm

Drew Milne portrait next to VIU's Centre for Health and Science

Alum of the Month: Drew Milne

March 15, 2023 - 03:45pm

VIU Blog

Find out what's going on at VIU!

A man wearing hip waders and waterproof jacket holds a salmon

Celebrating VIU’s emerging salmon leaders

July 26, 2025 By Pacific Salmon Foundation (reprinted with permission)

Meet Tristan Dieleman

Snowy campus

VIU Student Pulse News: January 24, 2024

January 25, 2024

Take care of your mental health 🧠

A student looks at a laptop screen surrounded by boxes

Finding a place to live in Nanaimo

January 22, 2024 By Michael Witcomb, Off-Campus Housing Coordinator

5 tips for students looking for housing

Group photo of people raising their hands in celebration

VIU Student Pulse News: January 10, 2024

January 10, 2024

Start the Spring Semester off right 📚

Daniela

Child and Youth Care students give back to community with project

January 4, 2024 By Eric Zimmer

Two second-year students share their story

a woman shakes hands with another woman

Business etiquette tips for students

January 2, 2024 By Jonah Ferguson, VIU’s Employer and Student Engagement Coordinator

How to be a professional in the workplace

An animal with a rack on its head in a snowy landscape

Studying tourism in Finland’s Arctic

December 22, 2023 By Riya Rajesh

Riya Rajesh shares her story

Statements & Announcements

VIU named a top employer for the fourth year in a row

February 16, 2023 - 09:15am

Lexi Barudin, who wears a crown of pink roses and a pink outfit, holds onto Brandon Caul's hand.

VIU’s Theatre Department presents the dramatic comedy She Kills Monsters

February 15, 2023 - 03:00pm

Poster with three images that says Taryn Walker, Echoes From a Time Not Yet Here February 16 to April 7

VIU’s View Gallery presents Taryn Walker, Echoes From a Time Not Yet Here

February 7, 2023 - 10:45am

An brown Vancouver Island marmot sits on a grey rock with some green bushes around it.

VIU lecture series kicks off with the story of the endangered Vancouver Island marmot

January 31, 2023 - 01:15pm

Bryce Casavant sits in the interior of a boat

Speaker addresses herring and the health of the Salish Sea

January 31, 2023 - 09:45am

People doing a live broadcast in a coffee shop

VIU experts appear live on CBC Nanaimo broadcast

January 27, 2023 - 04:15pm

VIU in the News

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Events and Info Sessions

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