SAS
Undergraduate · CS / Programming
Syllabus focus
Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
SAS programming
- SAS Studio/Enterprise Guide workflow
- DATA step: SET, INPUT, INFILE, and informats
- PROC PRINT, CONTENTS, FREQ, MEANS
- IF/THEN, RETAIN, and BY-group processing
- Formats, labels, and libraries
Reporting and SQL
- PROC REPORT and TABULATE for tables
- PROC SQL: joins, subqueries, and set operations
- Macro variables and %LET (intro)
- Exporting to Excel, CSV, and ODS destinations
- Sorting, merging, and combining datasets
SAS programming core
- DATA step logic and PDV intuition
- PROC SQL vs DATA step tradeoffs
- Formats, informats, and labels
- Merging and concatenating datasets safely
- Arrays and DO loops for repetitive transforms
- Macro variables and simple macro programming (intro)
STEM / applied
Analytics and industry use
- PROC REG, LOGISTIC, and GLM for modeling
- Clinical/pharma workflows: SDTM/ADaM awareness (intro)
- Pharmacovigilance and regulatory reporting context
- Performance tuning the DATA step vs PROC SQL
- Scheduling batch jobs and production pipelines
Advanced data step
- Arrays and DO loops for row-wise logic
- Hash objects for lookups (intro)
- Transposing and longitudinal reshaping
- Quality control checks on imported feeds
- Integrating SAS with R/Python (optional at some sites)
Analytics in regulated settings
- PROC MEANS/FREQ/UNIVARIATE for EDA
- Regression and ANOVA procedures (survey)
- ODS reporting for tables and graphs
- Clinical/trial or business reporting patterns (survey)
- Validation, audit trails, and documentation habits
- Capstone: end-to-end SAS analysis with QC checks
Notes
Widely used in pharma, insurance, and government. Course may emphasize certification-style objectives.