The objective of this investigation was to examine suicidal ideation and depression in undergraduate college students who participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention‐sponsored College Screening Project at Emory University. The principal measure of depressive symptoms was the nine‐item depression module from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9). Additional questions were focused on current suicidal ideation, past suicide attempts, and episodes of deliberate self‐harm and on symptoms of anxiety and distress. Seven hundred and twenty‐nine students participated over a 3‐school‐year interval (2002–2005). Most notably, 11.1% of the students endorsed current (past 4 weeks) suicidal ideation and 16.5% had a lifetime suicide attempt or self‐injurious episode. Students with current suicidal ideation had significantly higher depression symptom severity than those without suicidal …