Two-Month Excel Course: From Beginner to Expert Level

This comprehensive 8-week course (approximately 60 days, with 5-6 learning days per week and
built-in review/rest days) is designed to take you from absolute beginner to expert proficiency in
Microsoft Excel. It assumes no prior knowledge and builds progressively, incorporating hands-on
practice to reinforce concepts. By the end, you'll be able to handle complex data analysis,
automation, and dashboard creation.

General Guidelines

 Duration: 2 months (Weeks 1-4: Beginner to Intermediate; Weeks 5-8: Advanced to Expert).

 Daily Commitment: 1-2 hours (30-45 min learning/theory, 30-60 min practice).

 Tools Needed: Excel 365 or 2016+ (free trial available); sample datasets from sites like Kaggle
or Microsoft's templates.

 Practice: Use real-world scenarios (e.g., sales data, budgets). Track progress in a journal.

 Resources: Supplement with free YouTube channels like ExcelIsFun, Leila Gharani, or Kevin
Stratvert for tutorials (search by topic).

 Assessment: End each week with a mini-project; Month 1 ends with a basic report, Month 2
with an automated dashboard.

 Pacing: Adjust as needed; include rest days for review.

The course is divided into weeks, with daily topics, objectives, and key subtopics.

Month 1: Beginner to Intermediate (Weeks 1-4)

Focus: Build foundational skills in navigation, data entry, formulas, and basic analysis.

Week 1: Excel Basics and Interface

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Introduction to Excel Navigate Excel

1 Ribbons, worksheets, cells, navigation shortcuts.
Interface confidently.

Data Entry and Enter and format Text/numbers/dates, cell formatting (fonts,
2
Formatting data effectively. borders, alignment), conditional formatting basics.

Managing Workbooks Organize and secure Creating/saving files, inserting/deleting sheets,

3
and Sheets workbooks. renaming, protecting sheets.

Perform simple math Arithmetic formulas (+, -, *, /), cell references

4 Basic Calculations
in Excel. (absolute/relative).

Prepare and view

5 Printing and Views Page setup, print areas, freeze panes, split views.
data for sharing.

6 Review & Practice Apply Week 1 skills. Build a simple budget sheet.

7 Rest/Optional Light review. Explore Excel templates.

Week 2: Formulas and Functions Essentials

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

8 Basic Functions Summarize data with core functions. SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN/MAX.

9 Logical Functions Add decision-making logic. IF, AND, OR

, NOT. | | 10 | Text Functions | Manipulate text data. | CONCATENATE, LEFT, RIGHT, MID, TRIM,
UPPER/LOWER. | | 11 | Date and Time Functions | Handle dates and times. | TODAY, NOW, DATE,
YEAR/MONTH/DAY, NETWORKDAYS. | | 12 | Lookup Functions Basics | Find data in tables. |
VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP. | | 13 | Review & Practice | Combine functions. | Create a formula-based
invoice template. | | 14 | Rest/Optional | Address errors. | Error handling (e.g., #DIV/0!, IFERROR). |

Week 3: Data Management and Visualization

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Organize and query

15 Sorting and Filtering Custom sorts, auto-filters, advanced filters.
data.

Work with structured Converting ranges to tables, structured

16 Excel Tables
data. references, total rows.

Inserting bar/column/line/pie charts, editing

17 Charts Basics Visualize data.
axes/labels.

Sparklines and Data

18 Add in-cell visuals. Mini-charts, conditional formatting visuals.
Bars

19 Data Validation Control data input. Drop-down lists, input restrictions, error alerts.

Analyze a dataset with sorted tables and basic

20 Review & Practice Apply data tools.
charts.

21 Rest/Optional Experiment with data. Import/export data (CSV, text files).

Week 4: Intermediate Analysis Tools

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Summarize grouped
22 Subtotal and Outline Grouping data, subtotals function.
data.

Explore data
23 What-If Analysis Goal Seek, Data Tables (one/two-variable).
scenarios.

Summarize large Creating, fields (rows/columns/values),

24 Pivot Tables Basics
datasets. summarizing data.

25 Pivot Charts Basics Visualize Pivot data. Linking charts to Pivot Tables, basic formatting.

26 Slicers and Timelines Add interactivity. Interactive filters for Pivots.

27- Review & Month 1

Apply Month 1 skills. Build a sales report with Pivots and charts.
28 Project
29- Preview advanced topics; practice Month 1
Rest/Transition Prepare for Month 2.
30 skills.

Month 2: Advanced to Expert (Weeks 5-8)

Focus: Dive into power features, automation, and professional-level tools.

Week 5: Advanced Formulas and Functions

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Perform complex
31 Lookup Advanced INDEX/MATCH, XLOOKUP (if available), INDIRECT.
lookups.

Handle multiple SUMPRODUCT, dynamic arrays (FILTER, SORT,

32 Array Formulas
calculations. UNIQUE).

Financial
33 Analyze financial data. PMT, FV, NPV, IRR.
Functions

Statistical Perform statistical

34 AVERAGEIF/S, COUNTIF/S, CORREL, FORECAST.
Functions analysis.

35 Nested Functions Build complex logic. Combining IF with lookups, error trapping.

Apply advanced
36 Review & Practice Create a dynamic financial model.
formulas.

Explore formula auditing tools (trace

37 Rest/Optional Debug formulas.
precedents/dependents).

Week 6: Advanced Data Analysis

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Calculated fields/items, grouping, data model

38 Pivot Tables Advanced Deepen Pivot skills.
basics.

Import and clean Importing data, cleaning (remove duplicates, split

39 Power Query Basics
data. columns), transforming.

Power Query Manipulate complex Merging/appending queries, custom columns,

40
Advanced data. parameters.

Model multi-table
41 Power Pivot Relationships, DAX basics (CALCULATE, SUMX).
data.

Solver and Scenario Optimize and

42 Optimization problems, multiple scenarios.
Manager compare.

43 Review & Practice Combine tools. ETL process with Power Query and Pivot analysis.

Connect to external data sources (e.g., web,

44 Rest/Optional Experiment.
databases).
Week 7: Charts, Dashboards, and Visualization

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Create complex Combo charts, trendlines, secondary axes,

45 Advanced Charts
visuals. custom types (e.g., waterfall).

Enhance dynamic
46 Pivot Charts Advanced Dynamic charts, slicer syncing.
visuals.

Create interactive Layouts, form controls (buttons, scrollbars),

47 Building Dashboards
reports. interactive elements.

Conditional Formatting
48 Visualize with rules. Formulas in formatting, icon sets, color scales.
Advanced

Data Visualization Best Design effective

49 Design principles, accessibility, storytelling.
Practices visuals.

50 Review & Practice Build a dashboard. Design an interactive sales dashboard.

51 Rest/Optional Explore add-ins. Explore add-ins like Power BI integration.

Week 8: Automation and VBA

Day Topic Objectives Key Subtopics

Automate repetitive Recording macros, assigning to buttons, editing in

52 Macros Basics
tasks. VBA editor.

VBA Variables, loops (For/Do), conditional statements

53 Write basic code.
Fundamentals (If/Select Case).

VBA for Ranges Manipulate data

54 Selecting, manipulating data, formulas in code.
and Cells programmatically.

User Forms and Create interactive

55 Creating simple forms, input boxes.
Controls interfaces.

Automate complex Functions/procedures, error handling, automating

56 Advanced VBA
tasks. reports.

57- Review & Month 2

Apply all skills. Automate a dashboard with VBA macros.
58 Project

Full course recap; transition to Power BI/Python

59- Final Review &
Master and transition. integration; certification prep (e.g., Microsoft Excel
60 Next Steps
Expert).

Topics Covered Summary

 Beginner: Interface, data entry, basic formulas, formatting, charts, sorting/filtering.

 Intermediate: Advanced functions (lookups, logical/text/date), data validation, Pivot

Tables/Charts, What-If tools.
  Advanced: Array/dynamic formulas, Power Query/Pivot, DAX, Solver, dashboards,
conditional formatting.

 Expert: VBA programming, macros, automation, custom forms, integration with external
data.

This course equips you for real-world applications like business analysis or data science prep.