University of Colorado Boulder

Foundations of Business Analytics with Excel Specialization

University of Colorado Boulder

Foundations of Business Analytics with Excel Specialization

Excel-Based Business Analytics Foundations.

Use Excel to analyze data, model decisions, and communicate business insights.

Manuel Laguna
Dan Zhang
David Torgerson

Instructors: Manuel Laguna

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Beginner level

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4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
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Get in-depth knowledge of a subject
Beginner level

Recommended experience

4 weeks to complete
at 10 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Use Excel tools to organize, analyze, and visualize business data for clearer insights.

  • Apply statistics, probability, simulation, and optimization to support business decisions.

  • Communicate analytics results using clear visuals, context, and actionable recommendations.

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Taught in English
Recently updated!

August 2026

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Specialization - 4 course series

Everyday Excel, Part 1

Everyday Excel, Part 1

Course 1, 25 hours

What you'll learn

  • Navigating Excel, editing the worksheet (including inserting/deleting cells, columns, and rows), and cell formatting.

  • Expression entry and common Excel formulas (including logical functions, text functions, and financial functions).

  • Data management (sorting, filtering, consolidating, removing duplicates, data validation, and one-way lookups).

  • Data visualization (scatter plots, column charts, pie charts, Slicers, Sparklines, and Pivot Tables).

Skills you'll gain

Category: Spreadsheet Software
Category: Data Management
Category: Data Validation
Category: Data Analysis Software
Category: Problem Solving
Category: Data Import/Export
Category: Data Sharing
Category: Excel Formulas
Category: Microsoft Office
Category: Microsoft Excel
Category: Data Cleansing
Category: Plot (Graphics)
Category: Data Entry
Category: Data Visualization
Category: Data Integrity
Statistics and Data Analysis with Excel, Part 1

Statistics and Data Analysis with Excel, Part 1

Course 2, 17 hours

What you'll learn

  • Calculate descriptive statistics (traditional and robust estimators).

  • Understand probability and apply probability rules.

  •  Utilize statistical functions in Microsoft Excel.

  •  Visualize univariate and bivariate data in Microsoft Excel.

Skills you'll gain

Category: Probability Distribution
Category: Probability
Category: Statistics
Category: Box Plots
Category: Data Transformation
Category: Descriptive Statistics
Category: Data Cleansing
Category: Histogram
Category: Probability & Statistics
Category: Statistical Visualization
Category: Scatter Plots
Category: Bayesian Statistics
Category: Excel Formulas
Category: Spreadsheet Software
Category: Data Analysis
Category: Microsoft Excel
Category: Statistical Methods
Business Analytics for Decision Making

Business Analytics for Decision Making

Course 3, 9 hours

What you'll learn

  • Describe the significance of optimization in identifying optimal solutions for complex business problems

  • Implement optimization techniques to identify the best possible course of action among multiple alternatives

  • Judge the appropriateness of optimization techniques in finding optimal solutions for practical business challenges

Skills you'll gain

Category: Model Optimization
Category: Business Analytics
Category: Simulation and Simulation Software
Category: Microsoft Excel
Category: Probability Distribution
Category: Risk Analysis
Category: Spreadsheet Software
Category: Business Modeling
Category: Decision Making
Category: Data-Driven Decision-Making
Category: Exploratory Data Analysis
Category: Statistical Methods
Category: Data Analysis
Category: Risk Modeling
Category: Unsupervised Learning
Category: Market Analysis
Communicating Business Analytics Results

Communicating Business Analytics Results

Course 4, 7 hours

What you'll learn

  • Identify the challenges of presenting analytics findings to decision makers

  • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different communication methods for conveying analytics results to non-technical audiences

Skills you'll gain

Category: Data Presentation
Category: Business Analytics
Category: Data Visualization
Category: Correlation Analysis
Category: Presentations
Category: Data Storytelling
Category: Data Analysis
Category: Case Studies
Category: Analytics
Category: Data Literacy
Category: Data-Driven Decision-Making
Category: Technical Communication
Category: Predictive Analytics
Category: Storytelling

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Instructors

Manuel Laguna
University of Colorado Boulder
4 Courses152,813 learners

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