The purpose of this article is to justify the pedagogical conditions for improving the organization of research activities of students in extracurricular activities at the university. The essence, content and structure of students' research work are analyzed and characterized, the tasks facing the system of students' research work in higher educational institutions are formulated. The basic directions of students' research work and indicators of evaluating the effectiveness of research work organization at the university are considered. The main difficulties in the formation of internal motivation of students in research activities are highlighted. The features of the organization of students' research activities in the framework of the invariant and variable components of the content element of the proposed structure are considered. The possibilities of organizing research activities of students in extracurricular classes at the university are identified and substantiated by examining the organization methodology and the results of work of the student design bureau. The stages of work with students, the content, types and forms of classes within the student design bureau are described.