Students can now download MATLAB for only 20 dollars per year. The U’s Office of Software Licensing negotiated an academic license for the widely used MATLAB programming software. This means a discounted price and added features for everyone on campus. For faculty and researchers the price is $90, or with a classroom license it is $20 per seat.
MATLAB is a programming software used mainly for calculations, statistics and displaying data. Although it is extremely popular among scientists and engineers, it is also heavily used among mathematicians and businessmen.
“It’s very user friendly and is a regular tool in many disciplines,” said Cynthia Furse, professor of electrical engineering. “It’s also used in industry, so it’s not just an academic tool.”
Furse worked alongside Bill Lutz, vendor manager at the U’s Office of Software Licensing, to negotiate the MATLAB TAH Academic Annual License. This began when the U realized the total amount students, colleges and departments were paying for the software.
“We were spending way more than the site license and getting less out of it,” said Furse.
Prior to the negotiation of the academic license, students paid hundreds of dollars for perpetual licenses. This was a stark contrast to the $20 price of the newly available Academic Annual License.
The Office of Software Licensing says this price could change from year to year, depending on how many people take advantage of the new license. Within the first week of the its release, almost 200 students have purchase the license and many more are expected to.
“The cost to maintain the perpetual license every year in order to get upgrades is typically 20 percent of the license cost,” said Lutz. In contrast, students using the Academic Annual License are getting the newest version of MATLAB each year just by renewing their license.
A student purchasing the software directly from the vendor would spend around $500 as opposed to spending $80 for four years of access to the Academic Annual License. Additionally there are toolboxes included in the academic version which are not otherwise attainable.
Another benefit of the academic license is that it’s available to everyone on campus. Students, faculty and labs will all be seeing the same version of the software now, allowing for smoother communication.
Furse pointed out that the previous MATLAB license faculty members used required an Internet connection, which caused issues since coverage in the engineering buildings can be spotty. The Academic Annual License allows the program to function offline.
Negotiation of the new license has also granted the U access to extensive MATLAB training materials, which can be found at http://software.utah.edu/online-learning.php.
Interested campus personnel can download the academic license by visiting http://software.utah.edu and clicking on the banner advertising MATLAB.
@karissawang
Correction: Only student licenses are $20. Faculty and researchers pay $90 per license, unless purchasing for a classroom license, then it is $20 per seat.