International

One of the biggest things first-year university students experience right off the bat is a certain newfound freedom. It’s a freedom that largely presents itself in the form of more personal responsibility and less structure than what many are accustomed to in high school. This is especially true for those students moving away from home for the first time. There are no set study times, no required mealtimes and no one to tell you when to sleep or when to get up.

Reprinted with permission from The Discourse

Vancouver Island University (VIU) attracts international students from around the world and from various different climates. For Lurana McClure Rodriguez, who grew up in Puerto Rico, Vancouver Island’s environment felt like the closest home away from home. Wanting to study something design and arts-related, interior design gave her a wide range of opportunities to learn and specialize in. Now, at the end of her degree, Rodriguez finds that her final grades aren’t the greatest achievement.

So you’ve registered for your classes and now you’re looking forward to having a bit of fun and down time before you start university. Great! But before you head out on your summer adventures, there’s one more thing you should be thinking about now – where are you going to live?

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada and we begin by remembering and honouring the 215 children who were stolen from their families and killed by the Government of Canada while at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Flags at VIU remain lowered until further notice in recognition of the Indigenous children who were killed while at the school, as well as the families and communities impacted.

Top five questions about university majors

New university students are often asked, “What are you studying?” 

But what exactly does this mean, and how is your university “major” different from the degree you ultimately hope to earn? One of the challenges university students face is that there are so many new terms to learn and keep straight. Things can quickly get confusing.