Congratulations on your achievement! After all your hard work and study, you have done it. You are ready to graduate!
Students nearing completion of their programs are reminded that Convocation and Graduation are two separate events. Students must apply to graduate through their student record; attending a convocation ceremony is optional. Learn more about VIU Graduation.
Convocation 2025
Please note these pages are updated continuously as information becomes available. Make sure you check back often!
Follow the steps below to ensure your convocation experience goes smoothly.
The next set of ceremonies will be held June 9, 10 and 12, 2025. You can sign up to attend convocation when you submit your application to graduate. The deadline to sign up to attend is February 28, 2025.
Students who miss the deadline to sign up for their ceremony will be considered for that ceremony, only if space permits until May 1. After May 1, no late sign-ups will be accepted.
When you sign up for a convocation ceremony, you will be asked to indicate how many guest tickets you would like for your guests. All graduates are allocated up to three guest tickets upon request.
Tickets will be checked. No one will be admitted without tickets. Ensure you give your guests their tickets as they will not get in without them and you will not be able to find them once you are in your mustering area.
Due to Fire Code regulations, every guest must have a ticket (including infants).
Most of the communication about the ceremony comes via email from Convocation@viu.ca. These emails contain important information for you. Please add Convocation@viu.ca to your email contacts list to make sure that these messages end up in your inbox and not your junk mail folder.
Please log into your student record to make sure your emailing and postal mailing addresses are correct so important information doesn't go astray.
Students attending the convocation ceremonies must wear the proper VIU regalia for their program, unless they are wearing their Indigenous/Métis/Inuit regalia.
The valedictorian is a graduating student chosen by their peers to give a 5-minute farewell and congratulatory speech addressed to the students, their guests, and the institution. One valedictorian will be selected per ceremony. Valedictorians are selected by the students of their ceremony, based on video auditions or written statements that will be posted online for viewing. The deadline to put your name forward for consideration for valedictorian is April 3, 2025.
VIU graduates can sign up for an optional graduation photo session on the Nanaimo campus with Lifetouch Photography. Sessions for March 2025 are now open. Learn more about Lifetouch sessions.
Please email qvarea@lifetouch.com with any questions.
We strongly recommend that you check with your Program Chair/Coordinator or Degree Advisor before April 1, 2025 to be sure you will be eligible to attend convocation in June 2025. If you have courses at another institution that are to be used toward your degree, official transcripts from there must be received by the Registration Centre before your VIU graduation application can be processed. Learn more about VIU Graduation.
Please note that to be eligible to attend the convocation ceremony, you must meet one of the following conditions:
- You will have all requirements of your program completed and graded by mid-May, 2025 in order to have your credential officially granted before the ceremony, or
- You are realistically expected to complete any remaining requirements of your program no later than 60 days after the date of the ceremony, and you have the recommendation of your Degree Advisor or Program Chair/Coordinator confirming that you are eligible for "participant" status. Students participating in the ceremony as a "participant" will not receive their official parchment until they have completed all graduation requirements and their credential is officially granted.
The Convocation Handbook for Grads contains all the details about what is involved before, during, and after your convocation ceremony. Where do I go on ceremony day? What time do I need to arrive? Can someone else pick up my regalia for me? Answers to these questions and many more can be found in this guide.
June 2025 Convocation and Semelshun Indigenous Graduation Recognition Ceremony
The ceremonies will be held June 9, 10 and 12, 2025 in the gymnasium (building 190) at our Nanaimo campus. Programs are assigned to ceremonies in early March. This is to ensure each ceremony is roughly the same size, which is dictated by the number of students who apply to graduate, so make sure you apply by the February 28 deadline. Ceremony times are listed below.
Schedule of Ceremonies
- Monday, June 9, 2025, 10 am: Ceremony one: Faculty of Management
- Monday, June 9, 2025, 2:30 pm: Ceremony two: Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Trades and Applied Technologies, Academic and Career Preparation
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 10 am: Ceremony three: Faculties of Education and Science and Technology
- Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 2:30 pm: Ceremony four: Health Sciences and Human Services
- Thursday, June 12, 2025, 10 am: Semélshun Indigenous Graduation Recognition ceremony. This ceremony is for Indigenous students only.
Notice of Live Webcast / Event Photography
Please note that all VIU convocation ceremonies are webcast live internationally. VIU staff photographers also take photos throughout the ceremony for use in various forms of media, including print or multimedia materials.
Livecast link: https://www.youtube.com/@viuchannel
Contact us at Convocation@viu.ca if you have any questions.