Intro to SQL

  • course details
  • Dates and time: 6 – 8:30 p.m., two evenings per week, October 2024 (dates to be announced), registration in September
  • Location: Online, instructor-led live sessions
  • Number of sessions: 6 sessions
  • Instructional fee: $1,195, reduced fees available (see Cost section below for details)
  • Format: Zoom videoconference

Interested in learning to work with databases? How about learning the fundamental concepts that are transferrable to any database systems? Do you want to use MySQL in your projects? Then, this course is for you! No previous knowledge of database systems is required.

You are encouraged to bring your own data or project ideas to class sessions. These will be used throughout the course to fuel practical implementations of the concepts learned in class. Data may take any format, such as excel, csv, xml or others. During the course, you will take your own data and convert it into a relational database with some simple queries to retrieve the data.

➔This course is part of a two-course series. After you finish this course to gain basic knowledge of SQL, you can take the Interfacing with SQL course to learn to write Python programs to work with your database. You can also create a front end for it to view the data in a browser. You need to register for each SQL course separately.

What you will learn

  • Understand the general methods and theories of database design
  • Apply and implement relational database methods and theories to practical real-world problems
  • Construct an ER diagram of the database schema

What are graduates saying?

"Instructor is very skilled at explaining complicated things quickly but thoroughly. I really appreciated the way he approached his slides/presentations"

"Overall, my exprience was positive. The instructor is very knowledgeable and open to helping me outside of class hours. He really helped me greatly when I was a little lost. He got me back on track"

"Thank you for providing such a great program to the region!"

Who should attend

Working professionals, engineers, managers and those moving into a database role or whose role has expanded to include database technologies, including those who wish to utilize relational database technologies in their own area of work.

Course content

A typical course covers the following:

  1. Intro to relational databases and relational algebra
  2. ER diagrams, Convert ER diagram to MySQL
  3. MySQL SELECT, INSERT, CREATE, Basic Aggregate Functions, GROUP BY
  4. Normalization
  5. Importing data into MySQL database you have designed
  6. Final Presentations

Capstone projects are chosen by you at the beginning of the program (in alignment with the needs of your employer). Combination of the in-class training and the application of course concepts synthesized with real-world capstone project applications will help accelerate and increase your knowledge depth. You will receive one-on-one reviews of your database project with the instructor.

Student materials

Course materials will be provided in PDF format. In addition, you will need:

  • Software available to download for free
    • MySQL Community Server
    • MySQL Workbench
    • Python 3.9 with associated libraries

Instructor

Ben McCamish received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University and is currently scholarly associate professor at WSU Vancouver. His research areas include databases and information retrieval using game theory techniques to improve dynamic database effectiveness. Some of the related courses he teaches include Introduction to Databases and Information Retrieval. He also serves on the WSU Data Analytics Curriculum Committee.

Cost

The instructional fee is $1,195. There are limited number of seats available for employees of small businesses with fewer than 150 employees ($598), non-profits and educational institutions ($299), and for current WSU students ($120) and employees ($299). All instructional fees are per person and include a nonrefundable administrative fee of $75. See registration for details.

The registration fee is the same regardless of residence.

Meetings and format

The course is delivered via Zoom videoconference with live instruction. To attend, you need a computer with webcam, microphone and high-speed internet.

Each Zoom session allows for live interactions with the instructor and other students via chat, web conferencing or phone, all in real time. Assignments and other materials will be available online through a web-based learning management system.

Certificate completion

Earning the certificate requires the following:

  • Attending at least five of six sessions
  • Completion and presentation of capstone project
  • A score of at least 80% on a multiple-choice test (open book and offline). The test will be available at the end of the fifth session.