It was first started long time ago. It's true. But it is not deprecated.my WELL EXPERIENCED BIG BOSS told me that DEV C++ is too old and deprecated.
If I do not tell you the reason, then mine will become a bogus argument
All these IDEs are mostly based on free compilers such as MinGW. MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows) is a native software port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and GNU Binutils for use in the development of native Microsoft Windows applications.
Since you are a university student, you must know the key player in coding is the compiler. IDE is just an interface which helps us to write codes easily with syntax highlighting, etc...
All these new IDEs add more and more GUI features to help users but the compiler is the same. So I don't see any argument there in saying Dev C++ is deprecated. Yes, the last release of the IDE is 6 years old. But MinGw is released 6 months ago. So when you install the latest version of MinGW, your IDE will use that to compile your code.
These are very good IDEs. However these are not much used for professional development just as Dev C++.So use Code Blocks or Code Lite.(he told me not me).
Have a look Eclipse CDT (C/C++ Development Tooling). This is one of the commonly used IDEs in professional developments in USA and Europe.
BTW: If you could ask your boss to join with us as well, we can have a nice discussion. We have lots of experienced developers here who would like to share knowledge.