SQL
Graduate · CS / Programming
Syllabus focus
Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
Query fundamentals
- SELECT projections, filtering with WHERE, and sorting
- Arithmetic and string functions in SQL
- Inner and outer joins; self-joins
- Set operations: UNION, INTERSECT, EXCEPT
- Subqueries: scalar, correlated, and EXISTS
Modification and schema
- INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE with conditions
- CREATE and ALTER TABLE; constraints and defaults
- Primary keys, foreign keys, and referential actions
- Views and common table expressions (CTEs)
- Window functions: ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG/LEAD (intro)
Advanced querying
- Complex joins and anti-join patterns
- Window frames and running calculations
- Recursive CTEs for hierarchies
- Transactions and isolation anomalies (intro)
- Constraints as data quality rules
- Query readability and style conventions
STEM / applied
Analytics and reporting
- Pivoting and conditional aggregation for dashboards
- Date/time handling and fiscal period reporting
- Cohort and funnel queries for product analytics
- Exporting results for Excel, R, or Python pipelines
- Performance tuning: indexes and selective filters
Platform specifics
- PostgreSQL vs MySQL vs SQL Server dialect differences
- Stored procedures and parameterized queries
- Role-based access and row-level security (intro)
- Integrating SQL with BI tools (Tableau, Power BI intro)
- Data quality checks with constraint queries
Analytics engineering
- Dimensional modeling intro (facts/dimensions)
- dbt-style transformation layers (survey)
- Data contracts between producers and consumers
- Scheduling SQL jobs and idempotent loads
- Explaining plans to non-DBA teammates
- Capstone: analytics mart with documented assumptions
Notes
Standalone SQL courses appear in analytics, business, and CS programs; dialect and tool choice follow your syllabus.