Motivational sphere of the personality is considered to be a complex integral formation, the content of which is influenced by both internally conditioned motives and external stimuli, that is, biological, psychological, and social characteristics. The features of the motivational sphere of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University students have been revealed. The need for achievements, motivation to avoid failures, orientation of students, time perspectives and their content orientation were investigated. The interrelation of motivational characteristics, dominant mental state, time perspectives and gender of technical university students were studied.