From the standpoint of competence-based and synergetic approaches, the expediency of using ekphrasis to create an authentic language environment conducive to the effectiveness of the educational process, general cultural and professional development of the future specialist is substantiated. The main purpose of the study is to determine the didactic possibilities of ekphrasis and the areas of its application in the foreign-language educational environment of a specialized university on the basis of synergistic relationships that contribute to the formation of appropriate competencies among students of language specialties. The research is based on a set of general scientific and special methods traditionally used when working with the source base and linguistic analysis of linguistic facts. The theoretical prerequisites of the research are formulated on the basis of an analytical and synthetic study of normative documents and scientific data, their comparison, systematization, generalization. The empirical part of the study is based, among other things, on the methods of discursive and contextual analysis of linguistic material. The main research results presented in the article: 1) the didactic possibilities of ekphrasis and the scope of its application in the educational space are considered; 2) related disciplines in the subject area "Foreign language" are outlined, revealing the synergetic potential of ekphrasis in the organization of education in a specialized university; 3) the possibilities of increasing the effectiveness of the educational process due to synergistic relationships that create optimal conditions for strengthening subject and interdisciplinary integration are demonstrated, the formation of professional qualities, the expansion of the general outlook in the process of reading and interpreting authentic ekphrasis incorporated into literary texts for home reading. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that ekphrasis is one of the means of creating an authentic information environment that ensures active interaction between the student and the subject of study based on a complex of linguistic and extralinguistic knowledge – key components of competencies necessary to solve practical, research, creative and other tasks in a foreign language.