Abstract Body: Background: Mental illnesses are prevalent health conditions in the United States. More than 1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness. According to the CDC, the prevalence of mental health illness and depression among US adults aged 18 and older is 12.5% and 5.0%, respectively. In 2019, 19.2% of adults had received mental health treatment in the past 12 months. Mental illnesses cost America $192.2 billion in lost earnings per year. Therefore, as research is limited, the purpose of this study is to examine mental illness, especially depression, among Jackson State University (JSU) students. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed and applied. Data were collected in 2024, targeting African American students of JSU. The survey tool was adopted from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Students were asked, “During the past 12 months, did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing some usual activities?” Descriptive and Chi-square tests were applied in this study. Results: Three hundred ninety-eight African American JSU students, 74.4% females, participated in our study. Findings showed that 185 students (46.5%) responded that they were depressed in the last 12 months. In addition, depression was significantly more prevalent among females than males (54.1% vs. 37.5%, p-value< 0.01). The odds ratio for depression was 1.96 with 95 % CI: 1.16- 3.33 among females compared to males, suggesting that females had a 1.96 higher likelihood of depression compared to males. Conclusion: The findings indicate that self-reported depression was high among JSU students, especially among African American female students. Factors associated with high depression among JSU students need to be investigated. Furthermore, mental health awareness and services must be visible on the JSU campus.