The English-taught MA in Global Security and Strategy provides students and professionals with comprehensive knowledge and policy-oriented skills at the intersection of security and strategic studies. The programme enables students interested in an international career in government, international organisations, think tanks or NGOs to gain unique theoretical foundations, practical skill-sets and high-level contacts.

Leading scholars, think tanks, and senior strategists in security studies (from organisations including NATO, the United Nations, and the Royal Military Academy of Belgium) are brought together in the partnership circle, advisory board and faculty of this programme to allow for a critical and balanced exchange between the perspectives.

Graduates of this programme will be equipped to extract the insights, advantages and limitations of these perspectives and approaches to global security and strategy.

This MA in Global Security and Strategy is a programme of which the degree will be awarded by Vesalius College. Vesalius College is part of the Brussels School of Governance, an alliance with the Institute for European Studies it entered into in February 2021.

Key Features

• Organised in cooperation with the Royal Military Academy
• Strong link between theory and actual practice
• Limited class size ensures high interaction and close contacts among students and with the professors
• Internship placement in international organisations, think tanks and NGOs
• Intensive skills training and policy workshops, e.g. during a Capstone course that exposes students to real-life issues and challenges of policymakers and practitioners; during several simulations students participate in (SUNY model EU, Model NATO, Model UN MEDMUN)
• Strong link to policy-maker scene in Brussels
• Accredited by the Flemish educational authorities (NVAO)
• Supported by the extensive expertise of our Office for Teaching, Learning and Innovation to accommodate sophisticated blended teaching methods

Programme structure

The 90 ECTS MA in Global Security and Strategy runs across one intensive academic year and is divided into three trimesters. Hence, it will take a full-time student a total study time of 12 months. Students taking the 120 ECTS option will have to complete a fourth semester and will therefore have a total study time of 16 months. The 120 ECTS option will remain available until the 2021-22 academic year (included).

• Trimester 1: Core Foundations (Compulsory Courses): students take five compulsory courses
• Trimester 2: Specialisation Tracks (Elective Courses): students take four compulsory courses and one elective
• Trimester 3: MA Thesis, Capstone Case Study and one elective

The Brussels School of Governance (BSoG) is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (°2002) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Vesalius College (°1987). For decades, both institutions have built up strong reputations as frontrunners in education, research, and academic services on the international scene. Both being associated with Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), one of Belgium’s prime universities with a strong internationalisation focus, the IES and VeCo decided to work together more closely as of 2018. In 2021, they launched the Brussels School of Governance.