Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and before that as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. With roots that date back to 1936 when the Dominion Provincial Youth Training Centre was established, it has grown into a university that plays an important role in the educational, cultural, and economic life of the region.The main campus is located in Nanaimo, and there are regional campuses in Duncan and Powell River, as well as a centre in Parksville.

Vancouver Island University was founded in 1936 when the Dominion Provincial Youth Training Centre opened its doors to teach automotive mechanics to a small group of students. In 1969 the school was renamed Malaspina College, named after Captain Alessandro Malaspina, who explored Vancouver Island. Following a 1988 government initiative designed to increase access to degree programs in British Columbia, five community colleges in BC were granted authority to offer baccalaureate degrees, and these five institutions — Malaspina, Fraser Valley, Kwantlen, Cariboo and Okanagan—were renamed university colleges. Initially, they offered degrees through one of the three provincial universities.

Malaspina College had regional campuses in Nanaimo, Duncan, and Powell River by 1990. In the 1990s several at Malaspina promoted the idea of the institution offering something distinct—interdisciplinary bachelor's degrees in Liberal Studies — and in 1995 the institution was awarded the authority to offer degrees in its own right. In 1995, the province of British Columbia enacted legislation changing the institution's name to Malaspina University-College and allowed it to begin granting academic degrees and college diplomas. Malaspina University-College's Arms and Badge were registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on May 20, 1995.

Malaspina University-College was upgraded to a university under an amendment of the University Act and officially began operation as Vancouver Island University on September 1, 2008.

International students: 1,570 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) 2016-2017

Vancouver Island University's first president was Dr. Carleton Opgaard. The first chancellor was Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, who in 2009 became the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. When VIU appointment Chief Atleo as Chancellor, he became the first Indigenous person to hold this position in British Columbia.

The university press, The Navigator, is a member of Canadian University Press. The magazine Portal has been published by VIU students since 1991.

Occupying three campuses and a number of facilities including a centre in Parksville/Qualicum; the Deep Bay Marine Field Station; and Milner Gardens and Woodlands, VIU has had many renovations and major developments in the past few years to accommodate its growing student body and faculty.

Nanaimo Campus
Cowichan Campus (Located in Duncan, BC)
Powell River Campus
Parksville·Qualicum Centre

The main campus located in Nanaimo has 908,500 square feet (84,400 m2) of built space.

At this main campus the most recent facility is a new Health and Science Centre and a renovated Marine, Automotive and Trades Complex, built with funding from the federal and provincial governments as well as through community support.

Another project the University is working on is a District Geo-Exchange Energy system, which will use the energy stored in the water found in the abandoned coal mines underneath the Nanaimo campus to heat and cool the University's facilities.

In 2006, a 39,000-square-foot (3,600 m2) Faculty of Management Centre opened certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and a renovated 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) library (completed 2005) that offers extensive online and print collections, a special collections reading room, group study rooms, multimedia AV rooms, and computer stations. The VIU Campus Store is also located in the library building.

The Nanaimo campus is also home to the Richard W. Johnston Centre for International Education, a gymnasium and fitness facilities; art and music studios; science and computer labs; research centres; a campus career centre; cafeterias; and a student centre on a 92-acre (37 ha) campus.

Other notable areas on the Nanaimo campus include Shq'apthut: A Gathering Place, which is the home of the University's Services for Aboriginal Students; the Kwulasulwut Garden that honours Coast Salish elder and retired VIU Elder-in-Residence Ellen White; two traditional Japanese-style gardens; and the Jardin des quatorze (Garden of the Fourteen), which commemorates the women who died in the 1989 mass shooting at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec.

In 2011, VIU opened a new campus in Cowichan, built to LEED Gold Certification. The campus has a rooftop garden and a geo-exchange system to heat and cool the building