Overview

The MATLAB Total Academic Headcount (TAH) site license is available for free to current faculty, staff, and students (guests, including retirees & emeriti, are also eligible but they must request an account - see the FAQs below). It comes with every toolbox offered by Mathworks, as well as access to Simulink and other add-on products. In addition, the license includes access to the MATLAB Academy for online training and free technical support from Mathworks through our new UCI MATLAB Portal.

There are 4 license types available:

• Individual - This license will be assigned when you first sign in to the UCI MATLAB Portal. Every 12 months, you'll receive a prompt in MATLAB to verify your eligibility, and you'll have to login with your UCInetID and password to continue using the license. This license comes with every toolbox offered by Mathworks now and in the future.
• Polyspace - this license that allows you to run the Polyspace Bug Finder and Code Prover products. Polyspace allows you to verify your code and highlight its defects, as well as run exhaustive testing to ensure the absence of run-time errors. OIT will have to manually assign this license to you. Consult the FAQ below for guidance on how to request this.
• Parallel Server - this license that will grant you access to the MATLAB Parallel Server product, which will allow you to run computationally-intensive MATLAB programs and Simulink models on clusters, as well as run batch jobs remotely so you can use your machine for something else. OIT will have to manually assign this license to you. Consult the FAQ below for guidance on how to request this.
• RoadRunner - RoadRunner is an interactive editor that lets you design 3D scenes for simulating and testing automated driving systems. OIT will have to manually assign this license to you. Consult the FAQ below for guidance on how to request this.

**Please note that the Concurrent license will ONLY be used in instructional labs and classrooms. Special exceptions can be made for lab environments with multiple machines. Send an email to oit-licenses@uci.edu to request the license.

Downloading & installing MATLAB for the first time

1. Visit the UCI MATLAB Portal.
2. Select ‘Sign in to get started’ button under the Get MATLAB and Simulink section.
3. If prompted, sign in with your UCInetID & password.
4. A Mathworks account is required to proceed. If you don't already have a Mathworks account, you will be prompted to create one.
5. Select the download button for the current release.
6. Choose a supported platform (Windows, macOS, or Linux) and download the installer.

Activating the license

1. Launch MATLAB and go to the Home tab, and in the Resources section, select Help > Licensing > Activate Software.
   • If MATLAB won't launch, run the Activate MATLAB 20xx application (where 20xx equals the year followed by the version number you want to use e.g. 2023b).
   • You can find this in the same folder where MATLAB is installed.
2. In the window that appears choose Activate automatically using the Internet (recommended) and select Next.
   • If you don't see this option, you might see a field asking you to type your Email. Enter it in the format UCInetID@uci.edu and then select Next. Do not enter your my.name@uci.edu.
3. You will be prompted with the familiar UCI Single Sign-On page where you will enter your UCInetID & password. Once you login, accept any Duo prompts to finish the login process. 
4. A list of available licenses will appear. Select 40865087 - Individual - Academic – Total Headcount and then select Next to proceed.
5. If it's your first time activating the license, it will ask you to provide your first name, last name, and email. The username can be whatever you like but we recommend making it match your UCInetID. Select Next.
6. The activation process is complete! Select Finish and you're done!

Additional resources available from Mathworks

• MATLAB Onramp – Learn MATLAB in just 2 hours
• MATLAB Academic Online Training Suite – Interactive self-paced online courses
• MATLAB Online – Instant access to MATLAB from a web browser
• MATLAB Mobile- Evaluate MATLAB commands, create and edit files, visualize data, and view results – all from your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
• Videos and Webinars – Search for videos by application or product to learn about the vast capabilities and uses of MATLAB & Simulink
• MATLAB Examples – A collection of free and reusable code plus examples on how to use MATLAB & Simulink
• MATLAB Grader – Automatically grade MATLAB code and run your problems in any learning environment

FAQs

What are MATLAB and Simulink?

MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. MathWorks produces nearly 100 additional products for specialized tasks such as data analysis and image processing.

Where can I install it?

You can install the software on university-owned and personal computers.

Why am I seeing the error 'You are not permitted to use this license for University of California, Irvine'?

Only current faculty, staff, students, and guests including retirees & emeriti are eligible to obtain a license. It is not available to applicants, former students, or alumni.

If you are a retiree, an emeritus professor, or a Guest of the university, please email oit@uci.edu and ask us to manually create a user account for you and to associate your account to the MATLAB Campus License. Once we verify your eligibility, we will create an account using your published email address in the UCI Directory, and we will provide instructions on how to proceed.

How long can I use the MATLAB Individual license?

As long as you are an active employee or currently-enrolled student, you can continue to use the license. Once every 12 months you'll receive a prompt in MATLAB to verify your eligibility, and you'll have to login with your UCInetID and password to continue using the license.

Can alumni & former students keep using MATLAB?

No. Alumni will lose access to the license one year after their date of graduation, when they are converted from active students to former students. Students who are not enrolled in classes for two consecutive quarters are converted to former students and will lose access as well.

I'm a guest/retiree/emeritus professor, and I would like a Mathworks account.

Please email oit@uci.edu and ask us to manually create a user account for you and to associate your account to the MATLAB Designated Computer License. Once we verify your eligibility, we will create an account using your published email address in the UCI Directory, and we will provide instructions on how to proceed.

I'm a guest/retiree/emeritus professor, and I'm having trouble accessing the UCI MATLAB Portal.

Unfortunately, access to the UCI MATLAB Portal is limited to active employees and currently-enrolled students only. However, all of the features available to them are available to you as well through alternate links.

See the question above about how to request an account. Once your account is ready:

• To download MATLAB:
  
  • You can visit https://www.mathworks.com/mwaccount/ and login with your Mathworks account that was created for you by OIT. Under the My Software section, select the downward-pointing arrow next to license 40865087 to download the MATLAB installer.
• To access the MATLAB Academy:
  
  • You can access the MATLAB Academy website directly by visiting https://matlabacademy.mathworks.com/.
• To access MATLAB technical support:
  
  • Visit https://www.mathworks.com/mwaccount/ and login with your Mathworks account. Select the telephone icon in the top right corner.

Is there a way to install toolboxes later without downloading the MATLAB installer?

Yes. If you open MATLAB, select the Apps tab and then select Get More Apps. This will take you to the Add-On Explorer, which is Mathworks's Toolbox & Product Marketplace (aka their app store).

Just like an app store, you can search for and install products/add-ons from Mathworks and their online community. Select Add next to the product that you want to install, and then follow the online instructions.

While this approach is good, it might be easier for some users to just download the MATLAB installer which comes with all of the toolboxes for you to choose from.

Is the Concurrent license going away?

OIT will continue to manage the 'Concurrent' license (which runs on a FlexNet server managed by OIT) for classrooms and instructional labs ONLY. 

I have a computer that does not have a network connection. How do I activate MATLAB?

OIT does offer a special 'Campus' License which should ONLY be used for single computers that do not have a network connection. If you have such a machine, send an email to oit@uci.edu and ask for the Campus license file and the FIK (File Installation Key). Also, please provide a reason why this machine cannot get a network connection (for example, it's in a basement and it's cost prohibitive to run a network connection). OIT will vet these requests. Once approved, you can then follow these instructions to activate your copy of MATLAB to work offline.

How do I request the Polyspace, Parallel Server, or RoadRunner licenses?

Send an email to oit@uci.edu and ask us to attach the license to your Mathworks account. Make sure you activate your Individual license first before requesting assistance.

NOTE: Researchers who are in need of an on-premises cluster environment should consider partnering with the Research Cyberinfrastructure Center (RCIC) (https://rcic.uci.edu/) for assistance with using the their state-of-the-art computing and data infrastructure.