Find a program that's right for you.
At VIU, we work hard to create a learning environment that empowers you to get the most out of your education. Our goal is to set you up for success.
Find a path to a future career or further studies. Learn and practice skills that will last a lifetime and transfer to a career. Develop your passion and interests into great future opportunities. Even if where you’re going isn’t 100% clear right now, it’s still worth it.
Campus Tours
Visit campus
Come visit us and get a feel for what it means to matter here at VIU. Build a customized visit to our Nanaimo campus and see first-hand what it’s like to be a student. Tour the campus, sit in on a class, meet with faculty, and book an appointment with a recruiter to go over your options.
Financial Aid & Awards
Scholarships, awards and bursaries
The Scholarship, Award and Bursary program provides financial assistance, incentives and rewards to eligible students to assist in their pursuit of post-secondary education. Last year VIU awarded more than $4.3 million with an average award size of about $1,000.
VIU Residences
Live on campus
You’ll find a comfortable and welcoming place to call home in VIU Student Residences, making the transition to university life a lot easier. The staff provides an environment that will help you balance academic life with plenty of great activities in your new community. Ask our Recruiters about the First-Year Guarantee for VIU Residences and about the optional meal plan available to all students. Additional off-campus housing opportunities are also available.
VIU Mariners
Become a Mariner
Our Mariners varsity program has a tradition of excellence. Not just on the court, field or course, but in the classroom as well. Mariners teams won two Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships in 2019 (Women’s Volleyball and Men’s Basketball) and led the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) with a record five team provincial championships.
Last year Mariners scholar-athletes led the PACWEST in CCAA Academic All-Canadians. With a strong focus on community, Mariners scholar-athletes are often seen coaching and participating in community events around Nanaimo. Success on the playing field, the classroom and in the community means excellence is a way of being for VIU Mariners.
VIU Community
Why choose VIU?
Small class sizes and a welcoming campus community allow you to make connections quickly and focus on challenges and issues you want to help solve. Get started at developing skills for careers that make an impact in your community and your world.
Connect With Us
The VIU Recruitment Team
Helping you find your best fit for university studies and the services to be successful is what we do. Connect with a Recruiter to help you learn about our programs and options available to you. We’ll work to answer all the questions you have, and we can connect you to resources and information to help you move forward in the steps to becoming a university student.
Erin Fulcher
I chose VIU due to the smaller class sizes and the reputation that the school and the fisheries program have. I know now that I made the right decision as I feel like the professors at VIU truly care about my success and it is obvious that they are invested in their students. The amount of applicable experience that I have gained in the program is pretty amazing and it is giving me a wide range of skills from caring for fish to rearing larval organisms such as sea urchins. There is a lot of hands on learning and although sometimes it feels like a lot to handle and can be tedious, all these skills can be applied to a future career.
More Student Stories