The purpose of this study is to analyze opportunities for the de velopment of the self-educational activity and self-educational competence of students as part of distance learning in a foreign language in a non-linguistic university. The paper defines the ad vantages of self-education for future specialists in the framework of distance learning, gives a characteristic of the structure of students' self-educational competence in the context of distance learning, and establishes the features of self-educational activity as part of distance learning in a foreign language in a non-linguistic university. It is concluded that the formation of students' readiness for self-education in distance learning contributes to their recognition of the need for constant self-development and self-improvement to achieve professional and life success. The self-educational competence in studying a foreign language in the context of distance learning in students of non-linguistic universities involves the ability to independently study a foreign language and the possession of self-education skills and provides students; the potential readiness and ability to maintain and improve the level of foreign language proficiency in the process of self-education.