This publication contains the program and describes the concept of the course «Theory and history of fiction (Russian, Slavic, Anglo-American tradition)», which was read for the first time in the 2012–2013 academic year at the philological faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University State for students, studying russian language and literature. Experience course readings and reviews about it students allowed to raise a number of controversial issues: the need to include the study of fiction in high school programs, the content and form of teaching theory and history of fiction of «feedback» between the teacher and students in the course readings, etc. In an accompanying article, the text of the program «Science Fiction in university courses» is an attempt to describe the reasons for the popularity of fantastic literature in the student community, show the appropriate reader needs and expectations. Presents the results of observations of the ratio of domestic and foreign fiction texts in a circle reading of today's youth, attractiveness of different types for different categories of fiction readers, around the most interesting for the audience artworks and topics for discussion in the classroom. Development of the concept of the course made to identify within it the proportions of theoretical fantastovedcheskogo material (basic concepts and terms , and the leading principles for analyzing fiction text overview of the most famous schools and trends in science fiction), historical data (with the release of the most important stages in the evolution of different types of fiction , the largest authors and «vertex» fiction), and finally, problem-themed «nodes», which should be the subject of discussion in seminars (through motifs and images present in the fiction of different ages and countries). Produced a list of recommended reading of literary texts and scientific sources, updated volume of the necessary background information available on the Internet. In addition, the accompanying program article analyzes made by students during the development of the discipline homework and written responses to questions on the issue of the teacher of the course.