Can I use a student license if I am not currently enrolled in courses?

I have been accepted to a university for a master's degree, and I am learning MATLAB and reviewing other courses before I start it, which will be in Fall 2025. My university has a campus-wide license. Since I was accepted into the university, I have a student email address, even though I am not currently enrolled in any classes. Would I be able to use my university's campus access, or should I consider purchasing a home license?

[James Tursa]

Home License does not allow academic use. Use your university Academic License for academic work once you are enrolled. If you want a personal Student License, read my comments below.

Answer 1

[Umar]

Hi Alicia,

Congratulations on being accepted into a master's degree program at your university! It's great that you are proactively preparing for your courses, including learning MATLAB.

Given that your university has a campus-wide license for MATLAB, you may be able to access it even though you are not currently enrolled in any classes. Typically, universities provide access to software licenses like MATLAB to their students, faculty, and staff through campus-wide agreements. Since you have a student email address from the university, it is likely that you can take advantage of this campus-wide license for educational purposes. This means you may be able to use MATLAB on campus or potentially even access it remotely.

Before making a decision, it would be beneficial to confirm with your university's IT department or software licensing office regarding the specifics of the campus-wide license and whether it extends to students who are not currently enrolled in classes but have been accepted into programs. They can provide you with detailed information on how to access and use MATLAB under the university's license agreement.

Considering the cost implications, purchasing a home license for MATLAB may be an option if the university's license does not cover your current status as an accepted student. However, given that you will be starting your program in Fall 2025, it may be worth exploring the university's resources first to see if they meet your needs.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

[Alicia]

Thank you!!! I will speak with my advisor and the university's IT department.

Answer 2

[Walter Roberson]

Officially, you can only use the Student license to complete course work. As you currently are not taking any courses, officially you cannot use a Student license.

That said: campus wide licenses are Academic licenses, not Student license. If your university is fine with you using the Academic license for the purpose of learning MATLAB ahead of time, then that should be within the license terms.

[Umar]

Hi Walter,

Thanks for your contribution. Really appreciate your input.

[James Tursa]

Is there a link to the full text of the Student license? I can't find it.

[Walter Roberson]

The Student license forms part of

ls(fullfile(matlabroot, 'license_agreement.txt'))

/MATLAB/license_agreement.txt

[James Tursa]

There is nothing in my license_agreement.txt file about a course work requirement for a Student License ... that text only appears for the Academic License. The only requirement for the Student License is that the student has to be enrolled in a qualified school. There are some caveats to that (must be degree granting, or primary or secondary school, or continuing education, or be a teacher, etc.), but the essential requirement is just enrollment. My interpretation of this is that as soon as you are enrolled in a qualified institution, you meet the requirements of the Student License. So, if the student decides to purchase a Student License they would be good to go as soon as they are enrolled. This is, of course, separate from the University Academic License requirements as you mention.

But back to the Academic License, the actual text in my license file is "...used solely in support of classroom instruction of students." I would argue that once enrolled and preparing for a class you are planning to take qualifies as "support of classroom instruction". Surely the license text was not meant to prohibit students from using MATLAB during slack times at school, such as between quarters, right? Why would it be interpreted to disqualify the time prepping for your first course?

Separately, comparing Student License to Home License. Student License is cheaper, but you will lose the right to use the s/w once you are no longer a student, so there is an expiration date on this license. Home License is more expensive, but once you have it you have it. However, Home License does not allow academic use, so not applicable for students using it for course work. I don't know if it is possible to convert a Student License to a Home License (with maybe a price difference adjustment), but this seems like a reasonable thing to be able to do once schooling is done.