Yeah I know what you mean. I'm mechanical engineering (Controls) and the vast majority of them still use MATLAB, but they are slowly moving towards more open computing languages. I can only consider this a great thing! :)
The issue I see is with the undergraduate curriculum in many Universities. This is where I see the legacy use of MATLAB is really hurting the future generation of students. Many still don't know proper programming fundamentals because MATLAB really isn't set up to be a good starting point for programming in general. To me, MATLAB is a great tool IF you know how to program already.
Oh yeah, it’s a killer I’m not going to lie. I have the same problem with some classes here (though I haven’t taken one in years) and it’s quite frustrating since students are forced to pay for mediocre software in order to essentially do what a normal calculator can do anyways (at least at the undergrad level).
The issue I see is with the undergraduate curriculum in many Universities. This is where I see the legacy use of MATLAB is really hurting the future generation of students. Many still don't know proper programming fundamentals because MATLAB really isn't set up to be a good starting point for programming in general. To me, MATLAB is a great tool IF you know how to program already.