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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.

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Admissions & Aid Admissions & Aid

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Admissions Tuition and Aid

Admissions

Tuition and Aid

How to become a student

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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

Eliza Gardiner with a side bun and a flower in her hair

Theatre professor co-creates immersive flower sculpture

June 19, 2026 - 08:20am

A wetland with low yellow and light green grass with trees and a mountain range in the background.

VIU-led project working to protect Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region ecosystems

October 3, 2024 - 12:30pm

VIU Research Assistants Elise Cullon and Katie Carroll. Katie shows Elise a document.

Preserving feminist health history to empower future activism and work

October 1, 2024 - 01:30pm

A woman wearing an orange t-shirt for Truth and Reconciliation Day putting her hands on a large tree in an act of gratitude/

Writing from the heart – my reflections on how to action reconciliation

September 29, 2024 - 02:00pm

Carolyn Swanson

5 Questions with Dr. Carolyn Swanson

September 25, 2024 - 02:45pm

Actors Makenna Paugh, Cameron Greer and Ellie Crawford rehearse a scene from Tough.

Life’s unexpected realities explored in VIU Theatre department’s studio play – Tough

September 24, 2024 - 02:45pm

Three installation art pieces by Connie Michele Morey at the View Gallery.

VIU’s View Gallery presents Threadbare, an exhibit by Connie Michele Morey

September 11, 2024 - 09:30am

VIU Blog

Find out what's going on at VIU!

Emma Rampanen smiling at the camera.

Turning clinic experience into community impact

June 9, 2026 By Eric Zimmer

Meet the class of 2026: Emma Rampanen

Jindar Sboto smiles while working in a VIU Chemistry lab.

Researching the chemistry of cannabis

August 27, 2024 By Rachel Stern

Student leads method development for marijuana measurement

MBA student shares his 2SLGBTQ+ university experience

August 26, 2024 By Rachel Stern

Ashutosh Mishra embraces inclusivity and freedom at VIU

Four students walk down the stairway near the Nanaimo campus Quad.

A first year’s guide to the start of a new term

August 23, 2024 By Becky Duarte

Tips from someone who’s been there

Two students sit at a table outdoors, one has a laptop open and the other has a textbook open. They are laughing together

VIU Student Pulse News: August 21, 2024

August 21, 2024

Campus jobs, new student emails and back to school events 🍏

An early childhood educator reading a book to three kids

Earn while you learn with the work-integrated early childhood education program

August 20, 2024

You don’t need to stop working to further your schooling

Two students showcase their Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic work for the food sovereignty project.

VIU students design sustainable food systems

August 16, 2024 By Rachel Stern

Trades students gain valuable real-world experience

Statements & Announcements

Six actors stand in two lines holding their arms up over their heads while rehearsing a scene at Malaspina Theatre.

VIU Theatre Department presents the dark parody Collateral Damage

October 13, 2023 - 11:45am

VIU hosting free, family-friendly fall festival

October 13, 2023 - 09:45am

White lettering reading VIU on a dark blue background.

Statement on the war in the Middle East

October 10, 2023 - 03:15pm

Mixed media painting of a red, white and dark blue boat with a trailer in front of it on the shoreline.

VIU’s View Gallery hosts an exhibit featuring Nanaimo and mid-Island artists

October 10, 2023 - 02:45pm

Hands hold a long bill with a grocery cart in the background

VIU News & Experts: October 6, 2023

October 6, 2023 - 04:30pm

White lettering reading VIU on a dark blue background.

Vancouver Island University shares deficit mitigation plan

October 5, 2023 - 11:00am

VIU in the News

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