The article analyzes the legal problems of the integration of science and education, offers an assessment of various organizational forms of integration of science and higher education over the past 30 years. The main provisions, stages of implementation and the results of the implementation of various scientific and educational state programs are studied, statistical data are provided that emphasize the increase in the volume of scientific activities carried out in educational organizations (higher educational institutions). The authors investigate the status of educational organizations as subjects of scientific law, emphasize the imperfection of Russian educational legislation regarding the differentiation of educational institutions of higher education and scientific organizations. The article focuses on the study of the positive and negative consequences of the introduction of a new category of higher educational institutions – flagship universities. After analyzing the problems of legal regulation of flagship universities, the authors come to the conclusion that the logical conclusion of the reform of flagship universities can be the establishment of the status of flagship universities in the legislation on education and a clear separation of flagship and federal universities.

The study examines the concept of "science" through the prism of the language of law and legal doctrine. The authors claim the need to put down the working definition of science in legal acts, since this term has a practical meaning when qualifying certain relations as scientific. The article draws attention to the vagueness of the concept of "science" in the Russian legislation, the absence of such a feature as the creative nature of scientific knowledge in the legal definition.