The Division of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures provides leadership and vision and fosters interdisciplinary interactions for its constituent units, which have missions closely allied with one another. Approximately 65 tenure-line and non-tenure-line teachers and scholars compose the Division's faculty. Professor Jill Beckman is Director of the Division. The Division also administers the Center for Language and Culture Learning (CLCL), which is a resource unit for students and faculty in all of the constituent units.

The Division's constituent units offer courses in more than a dozen languages other than English; in theoretical and applied linguistics; in literatures and cultures other than Anglophone, including those of bilingual, deaf, postcolonial, and heritage communities; and in aesthetics, cultural theory, and creative writing. Undergraduate and graduate programs in the Division feature tracks that accommodate a variety of student interests and career ambitions. Educating students to become global citizens and preparing them culturally for careers that involve international business, diplomacy, or service, are high priorities. These goals are integrated into the training of students as critical thinkers, problem-solvers, proficient speakers, capable scholars, lucid writers, and multicultural interpreters.