This article analyzes educational activities of university museums in Russia. The relevance of the study stems from the contradiction between the high educational potential of museums and the fragmented nature of its implementation, as well as the lack of systematic analysis in the literature regarding the conditions for integrating museums into the higher education academic process. Despite the recognition of museums as important centers for heritage preservation and science popularization, the question of their actual involvement in the everyday educational life of universities remains understudied. The scientific novelty lies in conceptualizing the factors that determine the sustainability of a museum within a university’s educational space. The empirical basis consists of 15 semi-structured interviews with heads of museums at classical universities from all federal districts of the Russian Federation, selected using an activity rating developed by the authors that considered the diversity of educational practices and the availability of contact information. Thematic analysis identified, for the first time, four groups of conditions for successful museum integration into the educational process: institutional (formal status and authority), communicative (stable links with departments and faculty), subjective (student engagement), and material (spatial and financial resources). A key scientific finding is the substantiation of the crucial role played by the “museum – faculty – students” triad and the identification of the “paradox of invisibility”, where a museum oriented towards external communications remains unseen by its internal university audience. It is established that under conditions of institutional uncertainty and staff shortages, museums primarily operate under a “running on enthusiasm” model, rendering them highly vulnerable to changes in leadership or departmental personnel. An original trajectory for engaging students (from excursions through internships to volunteering) is proposed as a tool for forming a sustainable student core and overcoming staff shortages. The results contribute to the theory of museum pedagogy and the sociology of education, and can serve as a diagnostic tool for assessing the situation of specific museums and developing strategies for their development.