Introduction. Social actualization of the problem of student involvement, represented by different types of student cultures, in university science in the context of constant transformations of the modern education system requires special attention, since young people play a significant role in shaping the model of the country's future. The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze models of involvement of students of a pedagogical university in university science (study of students’ opinions on the role of science, the relationship between types of student cultures and models of student involvement in science, development of a strategy for the development of student science, etc.). Methodology and methods. The article summarizes the results of five sociological studies of the ideas of students of Herzen State Pedagogical University and their scientific mentors about university science. The work used quantitative (survey) and qualitative methods (interviews, focus group). Students aged 18-26+ (N = 1640) took part in the survey. The studies used both quantitative (Google Forms electronic survey method) and qualitative methods (narrative interview and focus group) with students of the Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities and Physics and Mathematics departments. In addition to the above methods, the method of working with documents was used, i.e. with previously published materials by the author on the topic of “Extracurricular scientific activities of students of a pedagogical university”. Results. The study of the opinions of students, heads of university science, mentor scientists and curators of student scientific associations not only revealed the features of the “image of science” in their picture of the world, but also made it possible to correlate the “model” of student cultures and models of involvement of students of a pedagogical university in university science. The result of the work was also the development of the basic principles of the strategy for the future development of student science at Herzen State Pedagogical University. Following these principles should contribute to improving the quality of education in a pedagogical university and become an indicator of the successful training of the teaching staff. These principles can also be considered as a tool for the professional training of students.