The integration of students’ intellectual and creative abilities is essential for the successful development of the educational paradigm, especially in higher education. Mental changes associated with changes in the intellectual sphere and the formation of a professional self are inherent in the student's age. The purpose of the study was to identify and theoretically substantiate the essence, components, functions and method of forming the intellectual creativity of students in the educational space of the university. On the basis of the conducted comparative-historical analysis, the choice of the methodology of the subject, resource, and ontological approaches, the general and special characteristics of intelligence and creativity, creative abilities, and creativity at different stages of their development were identified. The study records fundamental changes in the formation of students' intellectual creativity, reveals its essence as an integral quality of personality, which is based on motivational-value, organizational-activity, creative and reflexive-evaluative components. The author proposes a system for the formation of intellectual creativity in the form of a unity of psychological and pedagogical conditions, functions, principles and approaches. As a result, a situation is modeled in which students with different levels of intellectual creativity development fully acquire knowledge, skills and experience in this field, thanks to the dialogical co-creation of the teacher and the student. The author goes out to activate the student's need for self-development, self-actualization, self-organization, and sets the task of further expanding the concept of “intellectual creativity” in the context of culture.