I beleive the only difference is the EULA ie, you can't buy the academic version and use it in a commercial setting to make money. It is still the full version with all the features. The price break is for students, and schools, etc to be able to learn and use the software. It is true of all academic software. At least all that I have purchased, of which include: Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Office X, etc etc.