Global Security and Strategy Brussels School of Governance

Overview

The English-taught MA in Global Security and Strategy (90 or 120 ECTS)* provides students and professionals with comprehensive knowledge and policy-oriented skills at the intersection of peace, 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, founders of the discipline of peace studies 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. 

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 

The Brussels School of Governance is an alliance between the Institute for European Studies (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and Vesalius College. This MA in Global Security and Strategy that is organised by Vesalius College. 

*Please note that, as of January 2026, TOEFL has updated its score scale from a 0–120 range to a 1–6 scale. For our MA programmes, both the overall TOEFL score and the writing score must now be 5.0. Applicants who take the test on or after 22 January 2026 will receive the new 1–6 scores, whereas tests taken before that date remain evaluated under the previous scale (100 overall / 25 writing).

Accreditation

Vesalius College is registered with the Flemish government of Belgium as an institution of higher education, and its bachelor’s and master’s degrees have been granted accredited status by the Dutch-Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO, Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatie Organisatie).