| Formation years | |
| 1960 | BC Vocational School opens at Willingdon and Canada Way in Burnaby |
| 1961 | Plans are announced to establish BCIT |
| 1962 | First Principal of BCIT appointed |
| 1964 | First students are on campus: 498 of them in Engineering, Health and Business |
| 1966 | BCIT celebrates its first graduates |
| 1975 | Number of students is now 3,200 |
| Consolidation years | |
| 1977 | BCIT establishes Sea Island campus |
| 1979 | BCIT Alumni Association is incorporated |
| 1986 | BCIT merges with Pacific Vocational Institute |
| 1989 | BCIT's mandate is broadened to include applied research |
| 1989 | BCIT's Technology Centre is established as a focus for applied research |
| 1994 | The Pacific Marine Training Institute amalgamates with BCIT |
| BCIT evolves as a polytechnic | |
| 1996 | BCIT offers its first Bachelor of Technology degree in Environmental Engineering Technology |
| 1997 | The new Downtown Campus opens |
| 2002 | BCIT, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design become joint owners of the Great Northern Way Campus |
| 2004 | Number of students is now more than 48,000; Polytechnic status is enshrined in legislation |
| 2005 | Research Services Office opens to support applied research |
| 2007 | BCIT opens new 300,000 square-foot Aerospace Technology Campus at gateway to
Vancouver International Airport BCIT‘s international partnerships span training, education and research initiatives in South America, Central America, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe Total BCIT Alumni have grown to more than 120,000 |