This study of student suicide within UK higher education directs attention to the community context of suicide. A modified psychological autopsy approach was used to explore 20 case studies of student suicide from the period 2000-2005, drawing on the perspectives of family members, friends and university staff. The study identifies features of the higher education community salient for suicide prevention and concludes that the concept of transition is useful in considering the potential interaction across time and place of the risk factors for vulnerable students. These findings can be used to inform suicide prevention strategies in higher education and in other similar settings. (Contains 5 tables.)