Pre-Skills

Students join the Smith School with a variety of technical skills and educational and professional backgrounds. In the MS in Marketing Analytics program, students will use SAS, R, Tableau, and Excel in their first semester. Incoming students do not need to be proficient with these tools prior to the start of classes, however, having some prior experience will help you learn more effectively. The resources below have been compiled to assist incoming students with preparing for their fall coursework during the summer months. 

UMD students have unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, an online library of instructional videos covering the latest software, creative, and business skills.  

Optional Assignments and Reading 

• Business Writing and Communications
  • LinkedIn Learning: Communication within Teams
  • LinkedIn Learning: Communication Foundations 
  • LinkedIn Learning: Tips for Better Business Writing
  • LinkedIn Learning: Own Your Voice: Improve Presentations and Executive Presence
  • A Plain English Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents
• Excel (for students with no Excel experience)
  • LinkedIn Learning: Excel Essential Training
• SAS
  • LinkedIn Learning: SAS® 9.4 Certification Preparation 
  • The Little SAS Book: A Primer
  • SAS How-To Tutorials
  • UCLA SAS Learning Modules
• R
  • LinkedIn Learning: Master R for Data Science
  • The Book of R: A First Course in Programming and Statistics
  • UCLA R Learning Modules
  • Introduction to R Notes
  • Tutorials Point R Tutorial
• Tableau
  • LinkedIn Learning: Tableau Essential Training
  • LinkedIn Learning: Improve Your Tableau Skills
• SQL
  • LinkedIn Learning: Master SQL for Data Science
• Python
  • LinkedIn Learning: Python Statistics Essential Training 
• TensorFlow
  • LinkedIn Learning: Building and Deploying Deep Learning Applications with TensorFlow