The main campus of Vancouver Island University (VIU), in Nanaimo, is located on a mountain slope overlooking the Salish Sea on Vancouver Island’s east coast. VIU offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, education and sciences, as well as trades and graduate programs, professional development and training, and academic preparation. The school’s Indigenous/Xwulmuxw Studies is a collaboration between Vancouver Island University and the First Nations of Vancouver Island and Coastal British Columbia. 

For students interested in coastal and marine research, the Deep Bay Marine Field Station offers state-of-the-art labs and a seawater tank near an estuarine ecosystem. The Health and Science Centre houses research and teaching labs for chemistry, environmental research, nursing and other health programs. 

VIU works to improve access to post-secondary education through initiatives such as a tuition-waiver program for former youth in care, upgrading courses, student success coaching, and a bridging program for Indigenous students. An expansion to Shq’apthut, VIU’s Indigenous Gathering Place, will add more ceremonial spaces, Elder-in-Residence offices and washroom facilities, all within a fully accessible building.

In August 2022, the BC government announced that it will provide $87 million toward a new student residence building and dining hall at VIU’s Nanaimo campus. The new housing building will increase on-campus student accommodations by nearly 50 percent, from 536 to 802 beds.