Masters in International Management and Strategy

Gain the expertise and global mindset to navigate complex business environments and drive strategic growth across markets through our Masters in International Management & Strategy. The programme consists of the following:

Design of the programme

Fundamentals of managing a firm

• Build the skills to analyse performance, make smarter decisions, drive innovation, and create lasting value.

Thinking and acting strategy

• Shape strategy by understanding competition, challenging business models, and using sustainability to drive growth and resilience.

Become a global citizen

• Think globally by navigating markets, cultures, and geopolitical change to spot opportunities and lead across borders.

Competing in the age of AI

• Harness AI to spot opportunities, sharpen strategic decisions, and build advantage in a tech-driven global economy.

Career Enhancement Opportunities (optional)

Career Acceleration Track 

You can opt for our Career Acceleration Track where you can add an internship of up to six months, allowing you to gain relevant industry experience and stand out from the competition.

Double Degree

If you’re looking for extra international experience, you can opt for one of our two double degree programmes. You can either choose a Double Degree with the Darla Moore School of Business (USA) or with the Hong Kong School of Science and Business (Hong Kong).

See a full overview of all the courses here.

Action learning : from theory to practice

At Vlerick, you don’t just learn, you put knowledge into action. Tackle real-world challenges, apply what you learn, and build the experience that matters.

•  Learn from faculty with extensive business experience, bringing real-world insights into highly interactive and pragmatic classes
• Engage in business simulations that sharpen your analytical and decision-making skills
• Tackle real-life cases and challenges shared by managers from diverse industries 
• Participate in a full-scale -AI business challenge to design and pitch innovative, data-driven solutions with AI
• Gain insights through company visits, seeing first-hand how analytics and AI are applied in business
• Global Immersion tour: Spend four transformative weeks in countries around Europe and Singapore, combining lectures, company visits, business challenges, and cultural activities. Engage with diverse industries and professionals, explore different business models, and discover how global and political contexts shape business.
• Global In-Company Project: Over two months, you’ll apply everything you’ve learned in a real strategic consultancy project of your choice. You’ll work outside of Belgium with clients from a different country and culture, navigate the nature of working in teams across borders and boundaries, and gain hands-on experience of managing a global business.  

Personal development: from student to business leader

Beyond hard skills, you will develop the mindset, confidence and skills to grow, lead and shape your career.

• My Vlerick Development Portfolio: Reflect on your strengths, address weaknesses, and take ownership of your growth path
• Responsible Leadership and management skills: Challenge your assumptions, biases, and preconceived ideas while developing the leadership and digital-age management skills to navigate complexity, collaborate across cultures, and make confident, informed decisions.
• Career Coaching: Align personal goals with global job market opportunities
• Networking Opportunities: Build meaningful connections with peers, alumni, and industry leaders

Exchange opportunities

At the beginning of the academic year, students can apply for an international exchange at one of our exchange partner business schools, including Bocconi University (Milan, Italy), ESMT Berlin (Berlin, Germany), Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Frankfurt, Germany), Nova School of Business and Economics (Lisbon, Portugal), Polimi Graduate School of Management (Milan, Italy), Skema Business School (Paris or Sophia Antipolis, France), Stockholm School of Economics (Stockholm, Sweden). 

Alternatively, you can complete your global company project within the European Human Resource Management (EHRM) programme. Through EHRM, you gain international consultancy experience specifically in the field of European HRM while taking classes on the topic at several locations across Europe.

Practical information:

Our Masters in International Management & Strategy programme runs full-time from early September until the end of June, entailing 60 ECTS credits. Classes take place from 9am to 5.30pm and are a dynamic mix of working on real-life business cases, class interaction, company visits and group exercises. 
Our active learning approach involves many assignments in small teams and thus requires mandatory attendance, 100% motivation, and the willingness to work hard.  

• Build a global mindset: Transform your ambition into global leadership. Master complex strategy, sharpen your analytical edge and jumpstart your international career from day one. With a four-week global immersion, study exchanges and international placements. The world will be your playground.
• Learn strategic depth: Our curriculum spans strategy, sustainability and international management, giving you the knowledge to match your ambition. You’ll move beyond theory and start shaping sustainable businesses from day one.
• Accelerate your career: Leverage our career services to secure high-impact roles in consultancy, business development, or general management. Give your resume an extra edge by joining the Vlerick Sales Club or Strategy Consultancy Club.
• Apply what you learned: Theory only gets you so far. Dive into a two-month international consultancy project, solving real business challenges while building a global network that lasts a lifetime.
• Grow in a cohort that challenges you: You grow faster when surrounded by people who challenge you. Our intake is highly selective, and our cohort brings together 15+ nationalities, so you're learning from the world.
• Gain international exposure: Enhance your international learning journey even more by going on a short-term exchange with a top partner school, joining our European HRM track, or earning a double degree with the Darla Moore School of Business (USA) or the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong).
• Make better decisions with AI: With our AI in Action track, you graduate ready for a tech-driven world, rather than catching up to it.

Career services:

We offer individual support, helping you to identify your strengths, reflect on your career and make a plan for where you want to go. You’ll also have access to our job board and opportunities to connect with top employers.

Find out more about our career services

Career Paths

Take a look at some examples of career paths pursued by our Masters in International Management and Strategy alumni:umni:

• Strategy Consultant: Work with top executives to tackle complex business challenges and develop long-term strategies that drive growth, innovation, and lasting competitive advantage.
• International Graduate Programme: Tackle strategic projects across departments and countries in a full-time, paid rotational role designed to fast-track your leadership potential.
• Corporate Development and Strategy Associate: Identify growth opportunities, supporting mergers and acquisitions and shaping long-term strategic plans to drive a company’s overall business objectives.
• Private Equity Analyst: Support investment teams by conducting market research, analysing financial statements, and building valuation models. Help assess potential acquisition targets or portfolio companies.
• Sustainability Specialist: Advise organisations on how to reduce their environmental impact, improve social responsibility, and implement sustainable practices that align with regulatory standards and long-term business goals.

Take a look at where our Masters in International Management & Strategy graduates are working:

Are you

• A recent university graduate with limited or no work experience?
• Ready to tackle global issues with an open mind?
• Keen to develop an international career in management and/or play a key role in strategic consultancy?
• Convinced by the need for a sustainable approach to global business?

If so, then a Masters in International Management & Strategy from Vlerick is exactly what you need. Discover the global business world from the heart of Europe and beyond with a diverse group of students who share your global mindset. Become confident in managing international projects and making the right strategic decisions – while considering financial, operational and sustainable perspectives.  

Our recent cohort for the Masters in International Management & Strategy looked like this:  

Educational background

Start date: 1 September 2027
Duration: 10 months (from September until June) 
Location: Brussels 
Application deadline non-EU citizens: 30 April 2027

The tuition fee for this Masters programme is €23.500.

This includes:  

• Global Immersion tour of 4 weeks abroad (programme and accommodation)
• One year of full online access to the Financial Times and The New York Times

This fee does not include the flight costs to and from Singapore or travel to and from the destination country where you do your company project. You will need to organise this travel yourself. In addition to the tuition fee, please budget approximately €800 for return flights and visa fees. Travel costs for your company project will depend on the location. 

Financing your Masters 

Joining a Vlerick Masters can be a significant financial investment. But there are many financing options available to help towards your tuition fees, and we’re here to help you explore what types of support you might be eligible for. We process scholarship applications on a rolling basis, starting in October, for the September intake. If you want to be considered for one of our full scholarships, make sure to submit your scholarship application together with your programme application before February.

Academic Excellence Scholarships

Academic Merit Scholarship

• Purpose: Reward students with an excellent academic track record
• Requirements:
  • Belgian degrees: Study results equal to great or greatest distinction at Bachelor’s level.
  • Non-Belgian degrees: Study results within the top 20% of the class at Bachelor’s level.
  • Outstanding GMAT/GMAT Focus (> 700/> 655) or GRE (> 164 quantitative and > 163 verbal) scores 
• Scholarship: Up to 50% of the tuition fee.
  

Diversity & Equality Scholarships

Science Talent Scholarship (Exact sciences, Technology, Engineering):

• Purpose: Promote diversity in educational backgrounds, especially in STEM fields.
• Requirements: Outstanding academic record in STEM, leadership potential.
• Scholarship: Up to 50% of the tuition fee, with a chance to be awarded one of the two full scholarships sponsored by the Martine & Philippe Van den Poel-Haspeslagh Fund, the Marion Debruyne Fund and the Conny Vandendriessche Fund.

Equal Opportunity Scholarship: 

• Purpose: Encourage social diversity and individual commitment.
• Requirements: Represent diversity (e.g., minority group, underprivileged community) or actively promote diversity and inclusion by engaging in long-term initiatives that have a clear social impact.
• Scholarship: Up to 50% of the tuition fee, with a chance to receive one full scholarship sponsored by alumnus the Jan Toye Fund and the Vlerick Sustainability Centre. Applicants who fit the criteria will be automatically considered for this full scholarship.

European Talent Scholarship: 

• Purpose: This scholarship specifically aims to promote educational mobility within Europe and to strengthen cultural diversity among our student population.
• Requirements: For students with citizenship in an EEA country (outside of Belgium) or in Switzerland
• Scholarship: This is an automatic scholarship amounting to 4000€ and is combinable with other scholarships. To be considered, candidates must tick the consent box in the application form and submit before 30 April 2026.
   

Need-based Scholarship

Financial need scholarship: 

• Purpose: Support students with financial need.
• Requirements:
  • A realistic financial plan.
  • Proof of financial need (e.g. previous scholarships or grants).
  • This scholarship can be combined with any other scholarships
• Scholarship: Amount and allocation decided on a case-by-case basis. Full scholarships sponsored by the MGM alumni Fund, and 3D Investors. Applicants who fit the criteria will be automatically considered for this full scholarship.

If you're planning to apply for a scholarship, make sure you apply early and submit your scholarship applications alongside your application file. Please check the application form for full conditions.

Loans 

You could also consider getting a loan to cover your programme fees. 

• Regular loans: A loan from your bank could cover your tuition fees – get in touch with them for more information.  
• Lendwise loans: Lendwise provides loans to international students at the world’s top business schools. Lendwise loans cover your living expenses and up to 100% of your tuition fees minus your course deposit (which must be paid by you), less any scholarship you may be awarded. Click here to learn more.
• Boost your Vlerick journey with Lendorse: Lendorse offers German students at Vlerick Business School between €3,000 and €20,000 to cover tuition and/or living costs. In return, you commit to repaying a fixed share of your future income. Learn more

Paying in instalments

You can choose to pay your tuition fees in four separate instalments in October, November, January and March.

If you want to pay by instalments, you need to sign a contract and pay an admin fee of €250. 

There are four steps to applying for a Masters programme at Vlerick: 

1. Check your eligibility 

What you need: 

• Candidates studying in Belgium need a Masters degree from a recognised institution  
• Candidates from outside Belgium can apply with a Masters degree or a 3 to 4-year Bachelor degree from a recognised institution (there may be additional requirements too)

Our Masters programmes are designed for young graduates, with an average age of 23 and little-to-no professional experience. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact our admissions team. 

2. Submit your application 

We process applications on a rolling basis from October for the 2027-2028 September intake. If you do need a visa to study in Belgium, we recommend you apply by the end of April for the September intake.   

Complete your personal details and upload all necessary documents to our application tool. If you don’t need a visa to study in Belgium, you have until June to apply. However, we advise early application as we allocate places on a first-come, first-served basis. 

3. Take your admissions test 

There are two elements in your admissions test:  

1. Online test: We accept our own in-house online test: numerical reasoning (and abstract reasoning if applicable), GMAT (minimum 555) or GRE (157 verbal and 158 quantitative). 
2. Interview : We will look at your motivation, fit and knowledge of international management, sustainability and strategy. Show us clear goals, curiosity for management, and awareness of worldwide business news and trends. This interview also takes place online and lasts about 30 minutes.

Want to prepare for your admissions test? Discover our tips and tricks.   

4. Register for the programme 

The Masters in International Management & Strategy programme has a capped number of seats and a selective admissions process organised in rounds. We therefore strongly advise applying as early as possible:

First admission round academic year 2026-2027
Applications submitted:                   1 October 2026 until 13 December 2026
Decisions issued:                            28 January 2027* at the latest

Second admission round
Applications submitted:                   14 December 2026 until 14 March 2027
Decisions issued:                             17 April 2027* at the latest

Third admission round (last round for non-EU applicants!)
Applications submitted:                  15 March 2027 until 30 April 2027
Decisions issued:                            On a rolling basis (at the latest 27 May 2027)
Fourth admission round (if seats are still available)
Applications submitted:                  10 May 2027 until 15 July 2027
Decisions issued:                             On a rolling basis (maximum 3 weeks after application completion)

_{*Admissions results are communicated on a rolling basis, but at the latest by the deadline mentioned. If you need a decision sooner, please send an email to admissions@vlerick.com with a detailed motivation.}

Once you’ve been admitted, you can go ahead and register.

Discover what it’s like to study in Belgium, as well as practical information on how to organise your stay.