Undergrad programming in physical sciences (Score 1)

Well my physics undergrad course was PASCAL...and an additional numerical methods course. Served me quite well....then in grad school (physics) I picked up C and a tiny amount of Fortran. My classes and advisers didn't care that I did some homework with a combination of C and Mathematica. I had one adviser get huffy that I didn't use C (actually Fortran I think) to do some numerical potential modelling for my thesis, but my main adviser was happy to let me use Mathematica.... A language (visual basic is surprisingly powerful) is definitely a necessity for a physics undergrad course...but it has to be a complete language..not just a scripting thing like running a macro in Excel. The systematic thinking makes other languages a piece of cake to learn...and obviously helps with problem-solving skills.