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Yes—you can learn SAS without buying a license. For a practical starting setup, use SAS OnDemand for Academics to run code in SAS Studio, then work through the free SAS Programming 1 course. Add UCLA’s SAS learning modules for written examples and the SAS video tutorial library for short demonstrations.
This is a curriculum, not a ranking. The 100 entries below are specific lessons and reference topics organized by skill. Where SAS or UCLA provides a topic index rather than a stable individual lesson URL, the link goes to that index; use its contents to open the relevant material. “Free” here means the linked course, module, video, documentation, or book is available without a course purchase; some resources require an account, and SAS OnDemand is for learning rather than commercial production.
Before you start: choose an environment
SAS is both a programming language and an analytics platform. Base SAS covers core data access, transformation, reporting, and programming; SAS/STAT adds statistical procedures; SAS Viya is a modern platform with its own interfaces and services. SAS Studio is a browser-based programming interface, while Enterprise Guide and the older SAS Windowing Environment are different ways of working. A tutorial written for SAS 9.4 can teach concepts that remain useful, but its screens, paths, installed procedures, or sample libraries may not match your environment. Learn the code and data concepts, not just where a button appears.
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#1 Best Overall
SAS’s free-training page mixes permanently free resources with account-based offerings and a 7-day trial of its learning subscription. Check the access label on each course before enrolling: a trial is not the same as a permanently free course, and free tutorials do not make certification exams free.
The 100 free SAS learning resources
How to use this list: The course and video portals change their catalogs over time. Direct links below point to verified official or university resource pages; when a topic is part of a larger index, the linked page is the navigation point, not a claim that each numbered item has a separate URL. SAS documentation and video titles may be labeled by product or release; check that context before copying interface steps.
Rank #2
- Learning SAS by Example: A Programmer's Guide, Second Edition
- ABIS BOOK
- SAS Institute
Start here: setup and first programs (1–10)
- SAS Programming 1 — structured introductory course; the best single foundation for a new code-first learner. Beginner; free course; registration may be required.
- Registering for SAS OnDemand for Academics — find the independent-learner, student, or instructor route that applies to you. Setup; free learning access.
- Getting Started with SAS Studio — learn the browser interface before following a screen-based demonstration. Beginner; video.
- Writing a Basic SAS Program — see a small program submitted in SAS Studio. Beginner; video.
- Uploading data to SAS Studio — locate SAS’s current guidance for bringing a permitted local dataset into the learning environment. Beginner; support tutorial.
- Creating a SAS table from a CSV file — follow the video library’s CSV workflow. Beginner; video.
- Accessing data in SAS libraries — understand how SAS organizes tables. Beginner; video.
- Viewing a SAS table in SAS Studio — inspect observations and variables in the interface. Beginner; video.
- Reading SAS logs and program results — use Base SAS learning and support material to understand notes, warnings, and errors. Beginner; documentation and tutorials.
- Introduction to SAS — use UCLA’s SAS module index for a written introduction and examples. Beginner; university notes.
SAS syntax and DATA steps (11–25)
- SAS program structure — learn the relationship between DATA steps and PROC steps. Beginner; official learning hub.
- Statements, semicolons, and execution — practice reading SAS statements as the language’s basic instructions. Beginner; official learning hub.
- SAS comments — find programming material on documenting code without executing comment text. Beginner; official learning hub.
- DATA-step processing — learn how SAS reads and processes data observations. Beginner; official learning hub.
- Creating a SAS table — watch a basic data-creation example, then modify the input. Beginner; video.
- Reading inline data with CARDS or DATALINES — find examples of entering small data directly in a program. Beginner; written module index.
- Reading raw data files — study UCLA’s data-input examples and adapt file locations to your environment. Beginner; written modules.
- Using SET in a DATA step — learn how to read an existing SAS table. Beginner; official learning hub.
- Using INPUT to read values — review raw-data input examples, including how input layout affects values. Beginner; written modules.
- Creating new variables — practice assignments and calculated variables in a DATA step. Beginner; official learning hub.
- Character and numeric variables — learn SAS’s distinct variable types and why mismatches matter. Beginner; official learning hub.
- Missing values — use UCLA’s modules to understand missing data and SAS conditions. Beginner; written modules.
- Conditional logic in SAS — watch an IF/THEN-style example and test edge cases. Beginner; video.
- DO loops — find Base SAS programming material on repeating DATA-step actions. Intermediate; official learning hub.
- RETAIN and values across iterations — learn this only after you understand the DATA-step iteration model. Intermediate; official learning hub.
Data inspection and cleaning (26–40)
- Inspecting data and metadata — start a cleaning task by checking variable names, types, and values. Beginner; UCLA modules.
- PROC CONTENTS — inspect table structure and metadata. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- Filtering a SAS table in a DATA step — watch a row-subsetting example. Beginner; video.
- KEEP and selecting variables — learn how to retain only needed columns. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- DROP and removing variables — compare dropping columns at input or output. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- RENAME variables — practice changing names while tracking downstream references. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- Recoding variables — use UCLA’s data-management modules for recoding examples. Beginner to intermediate; written modules.
- SAS functions — find examples for text, numeric, and date-related transformations. Beginner to intermediate; written modules.
- Handling missing values — practice identifying missingness before recoding or analysis. Beginner; written modules.
- Finding duplicate records — use Base SAS resources to explore sorting and duplicate-checking techniques. Intermediate; official learning hub.
- Labels and variable descriptions — add readable labels and inspect how they affect output. Beginner; written modules.
- Formatting values in SAS — see how formats change display without changing stored values. Beginner; video.
- Working with dates — learn that SAS dates are numeric values with date formats. Intermediate; written modules.
- Converting character dates — study informat-based conversion and verify the resulting values before formatting. Intermediate; written modules.
- Validating cleaned data — use the data-management examples to check counts, ranges, missingness, and expected categories. Intermediate; written modules.
Sorting, merging, and reshaping (41–55)
- PROC SORT — learn sorting before BY-group processing or a DATA-step match merge. Beginner; written modules.
- BY-group processing — understand how sorted groups drive DATA-step behavior. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- FIRST. and LAST. variables — identify group boundaries in BY-group processing. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- Permanent SAS datasets and libraries — distinguish temporary work tables from saved library members. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- Concatenating datasets — study how to append compatible tables and check variable attributes. Intermediate; written modules.
- One-to-one DATA-step merges — review matching tables by keys and sort requirements. Intermediate; written modules.
- Match merges — practice combining records by BY variables and checking which rows survive. Intermediate; written modules.
- Merge indicators and in= variables — learn how to identify source-table membership in a merge. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- Many-to-many merge risks — understand why duplicate keys can multiply rows and why key cardinality must be checked. Intermediate; written modules.
- PROC SQL joins — compare SQL joins with DATA-step match merges. Intermediate; UCLA modules.
- Inner joins — learn which matching rows an inner join retains. Intermediate; written modules.
- Left joins — practice retaining left-side rows and inspecting unmatched right-side values. Intermediate; written modules.
- UNION in PROC SQL — study stacking query results and the role of compatible columns. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- Wide-to-long reshaping — use UCLA’s reshaping examples to make repeated measures easier to analyze. Intermediate; written modules.
- Long-to-wide reshaping — learn how to transpose grouped observations into columns and verify the result. Intermediate; written modules.
Core procedures and tables (56–65)
- PROC PRINT — display observations to inspect a dataset and troubleshoot transformations. Beginner; official Base SAS hub.
- PROC FREQ — produce one-way frequency tables and cross-tabulations. Beginner; UCLA examples.
- PROC MEANS — summarize numeric variables with descriptive statistics. Beginner; UCLA examples.
- PROC SUMMARY — learn grouped summaries and output datasets. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- PROC TABULATE — build multidimensional summary tables. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- PROC TRANSPOSE — reshape data and inspect how identifiers map to new columns. Intermediate; UCLA modules.
- PROC UNIVARIATE — explore distributions and descriptive analysis examples. Intermediate; UCLA examples.
- PROC FORMAT — define custom formats for readable categories and reports. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- PROC DATASETS — find Base SAS references for managing library members and metadata. Advanced reference; official hub.
- SAS procedure syntax and documentation — use the official Base SAS hub to find procedure-specific syntax and release context. All levels; reference.
PROC SQL (66–73)
- PROC SQL SELECT and FROM — learn the basic query structure. Beginner to intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
- WHERE conditions in PROC SQL — filter rows and check character, numeric, and missing-value conditions. Beginner to intermediate; official hub.
- ORDER BY — sort query results without confusing result order with data storage. Beginner to intermediate; official hub.
- GROUP BY and HAVING — summarize groups and filter grouped results. Intermediate; official hub.
- Calculated columns — create derived values in a query. Intermediate; official hub.
- CASE WHEN — build conditional values in SQL expressions. Intermediate; official hub.
- Joins, unmatched records, and duplicate keys — compare join types and validate row counts; duplicate keys can make output larger than expected. Intermediate; UCLA modules.
- Creating tables with PROC SQL — learn query-based table creation and inspect the result. Intermediate; official Base SAS hub.
Statistics and interpretation (74–85)
- Statistics 1 — structured introduction to statistical analysis with SAS. Beginner; free course listing.
- Descriptive statistics — work through SAS data-analysis examples and annotated output. Beginner; UCLA resource hub.
- Frequency analysis — study categorical summaries and their output. Beginner; UCLA examples.
- Cross-tabulations — explore two-way tables and their interpretation. Beginner to intermediate; UCLA examples.
- t tests — find SAS examples for comparing means and interpreting output. Intermediate; UCLA resource hub.
- Correlation — review association measures and SAS output. Intermediate; UCLA examples.
- Linear regression — use data-analysis examples to connect model specification with output. Intermediate; UCLA resource hub.
- Logistic regression — study modeling binary outcomes and interpreting estimates. Intermediate; UCLA resource hub.
- ANOVA — find analysis examples for comparing group means. Intermediate; UCLA resource hub.
- Nonparametric tests — review alternatives when model assumptions or data types call for them. Intermediate; UCLA examples.
- Survival analysis and mixed models — use the UCLA hub to locate specialized examples; these are not first-course topics. Advanced; examples and notes.
- Introduction to Statistical Concepts — strengthen statistical reasoning alongside software practice. Beginner; free course listing.
Graphics and reporting (86–90)
- Histograms — find introductory graph demonstrations and practice checking bin choices. Beginner; video library.
- Bar charts — explore categorical comparisons and clear labeling. Beginner; video library.
- Scatterplots — use SAS video tutorials to create and interpret two-variable plots. Beginner; video.
- SAS Studio graphs and tasks — learn the interface workflow, then inspect or reproduce results in code where possible. Beginner; video library; interface-dependent.
- ODS output — use Base SAS documentation to learn output destinations such as HTML, PDF, and Excel; exact support depends on the SAS environment. Intermediate; reference.
Macros and automation (91–95)
- Macro variables, %LET, and ampersand resolution — learn text substitution after mastering ordinary DATA and PROC code. Advanced; official Base SAS hub.
- %MACRO and %MEND — understand macro definition and invocation. Advanced; official Base SAS hub.
- Macro parameters — study positional and keyword parameters for reusable programs. Advanced; official Base SAS hub.
- Debugging macro resolution — use the log and official programming references to trace generated code. Advanced; reference.
- Automating repeated analyses — apply macros only where reusable code or controlled text generation solves a real problem. Advanced; official Base SAS hub.
SAS Viya, Python, and current workflows (96–100)
- SAS Viya Overview — orient yourself to the modern SAS platform before following Viya-specific lessons. Beginner; free course listing.
- Modern Data Science with SAS Viya Workbench and Python — explore a modern analytics workflow that combines SAS and Python. Intermediate; check current course access.
- Base SAS on Viya versus Base SAS 9.4 — use official support to identify release and platform differences relevant to code examples. All levels; reference.
- SAS Viya machine-learning and analytics e-books — choose a topic-specific book for procedures, Model Studio, Python interfaces, or visualization. Intermediate to advanced; free reading.
- Free SAS e-books — browse the official collection for supplementary reading; books vary in release, prerequisites, and product focus. All levels; free reading.
Choose a learning path
Beginner: learn to write and run useful programs
- Register for SAS OnDemand for Academics and open SAS Studio.
- Complete SAS Programming 1.
- Work through UCLA’s introduction, syntax, input, subsetting, and missing-value modules.
- Practice importing a CSV, inspecting it with PROC CONTENTS, filtering rows, sorting, and summarizing with PROC FREQ or PROC MEANS.
- Use the SAS video library when you need to see a particular SAS Studio task.
Data-cleaning and analyst path
Study metadata, functions, missing values, character-to-date conversion, formats, sorting, merges, SQL joins, and reshaping in the UCLA module index. For every join, check key uniqueness and compare row counts before and after. Save a raw-data copy and make each cleaning step reproducible rather than relying on manual edits.
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Pair SAS programming with Statistics 1 and Introduction to Statistical Concepts. Then use UCLA’s annotated examples and data-analysis resources for descriptive analysis, tests, regression, and specialized methods. Learn assumptions and interpretation alongside procedure syntax; a successful run does not establish that a model is appropriate.
Certification preparation
Build competence in DATA-step processing, formats and informats, functions, PROC SQL, and macro fundamentals, then compare your preparation with the current official SAS learning and certification information. Free courses and practice resources can help, but they do not guarantee certification or replace current exam objectives, relevant practice, or the paid exam itself.
Clinical SAS path
Start with Base SAS and data-management skills before studying SDTM, ADaM, controlled terminology, analysis-ready datasets, and tables, listings, and figures. A brief introductory clinical tutorial is not equivalent to a clinical-programming curriculum. Regulated work also requires traceability, validation, documentation, and organization-specific standards; confirm any course’s scope and cost in the SAS course catalog.
Rank #4
SAS Viya path
Begin with the free SAS Viya Overview, then select courses on Viya Workbench and Python, administration, machine learning, visualization, or AI according to your role. Use the Viya e-book collection as follow-up reading. These resources are not interchangeable with every SAS 9.4 tutorial.
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- The program fails: Read the log from the first error downward. Later errors can be consequences of an earlier one.
- A file or library cannot be found: Check whether the library was assigned and whether the path is valid in your environment. A local Windows path in a video will not automatically work in a browser-based session.
- Your output differs from the tutorial: Check the SAS release, installed products, interface, sample data, and options. Compare the relevant official documentation rather than assuming every screen or result is identical.
- A merge or join creates too many rows: Inspect duplicate keys on both sides. Many-to-many key relationships can multiply records; verify cardinality and row counts before accepting results.
- Dates look wrong: Confirm that character text was read with an appropriate informat and that a date format is applied. A display format changes appearance, not the underlying stored value.
- You are blocked on account setup: Use the current OnDemand support page and select the workflow for an independent learner, student, or instructor. Institutional access can use a different process.
- You need help from others: Include a small reproducible code example, the relevant log text, your SAS environment, and the result you expected.
What to build after the tutorials
Make a small portfolio project that shows the full workflow: import a public or otherwise permitted dataset; inspect metadata; clean missing, inconsistent, and date values; document transformations; join only on checked keys; produce summary tables and one or two interpretable graphs; and save a clear program and output. Explain the decisions and validation checks, not just the procedure names. This demonstrates more than watching videos, but it is not a guarantee of employment.
You can begin SAS without buying software, using the learning access and free courses described above. Commercial SAS deployments, some training, and certification are separate matters. A beginner should first complete one structured course and practice with real data; consider a paid subscription or certification only when a specific learning or career goal justifies it.
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