ABSTRACTDespite college students’ high rates of depression, a large treatment gap remains in which many students in need are not receiving evidence-based care. This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) delivered a novel adaptation of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for College Students (IPT-CS) in group modality at a college counseling center. Of 97 students expressing interest, 18 with mild to moderate depression were randomized to IPT-CS or referral-to-usual-care. The nine who initiated IPT-CS treatment had an average 96.67% attendance rate across 10 sessions and rated IPT-CS as satisfactory and accessible. Facilitators also rated IPT-CS as satisfactory, feasible, and faithful to IPT. Group-by-time analyses indicated that IPT-CS, compared to referral-to-usual-care, yielded a pattern of medium to large effects for depression, anxiety, quality of life, social adjustment and support, interpersonal concerns overall, and disconnection/loneliness specifically. As the pilot trial was powered to detect quite large effects, group-by-time analyses only reached statistical significance for depression and social support, as did within-group analyses for quality of life and interpersonal concerns overall. Importantly, reductions in depression and anxiety were clinically significant, dropping from moderate at pre-intervention to mild/no signs at post-intervention. These findings have implications for improving the accessibility, reach, and impact of effective mental health services for college students.KEYWORDS: Accessibilitycollege counseling centerdepressiongroup therapyInterpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)university students AcknowledgmentsMany thanks to group co-facilitators Roxanna Flores and Allison Payne, as well as other clinicians at the Loyola University Chicago Wellness Center including Amy Bohnert, David deBoer, Daniel Keller, and Tiffany Tiberi. We are grateful for the valuable contributions from Ali Boutelle, Sophia Hengst, Joshua Knutsen, Vivian Grace McGaughey, Sara Sadok, Mattheus Shack, Madeline Suhs, and several other research assistants for their contributions to project administration and manuscript preparation, as well as the many students who enrolled and engaged in the intervention we evaluate here. We also appreciate the support provided by our wonderful community of IPT colleagues including Jill Cyranowski, Laura Mufson, Holly Swartz, and Jami Young.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by Loyola University Chicago.