The modern world is interconnected through the forces of globalization. DIU focuses on the intersections of language, culture, and faith to understand the needs and assets of local communities around the world. As our alumni partner with communities in more than 80 countries, we prepare graduates for language acquisition, culture acquisition, or both.

Our common Christian faith beckons us to take the lead in loving our neighbor both at home and abroad. To love others through partnership and service across cultural boundaries requires innovation, sensitivity, and leadership. As our graduates relate to leaders from other communities and combine their experience and skills, together they can forge solutions to locally expressed problems.

DIU emphasizes the importance of partnership in cross-cultural work. Our graduates acquire skills and knowledge through which they provide necessary skills to organizations and communities around the globe. Through community conversations to understand their needs and goals, our graduates work in multicultural teams to address locally expressed needs. To work in such teams requires specific interpersonal skills and appropriate attitudes that foster healthy teamwork and a spirit of partnership.

DIU prepares leaders to engage needs or problems that are expressed by local communities around the world. In our domains of expertise, communities have expressed desires for language development, Bible translation, literacy, Scripture engagement, education, arts, and more. In many cases, local communities have already initiated projects but have asked for additional partners to assist in specialized domains such as linguistics, biblical studies, world arts, and education.