Piled Higher and Deeper

PhD Comics is an American comic book series on the life ( or the " non " - life ) at a ( U.S. ) University. The abbreviation PhD stands for " Piled Higher and Deeper " (English for " Higher and deeper stacked " ) and plays simultaneously on the Ph.D. title that corresponds to the German " Doctor of Science " in the Anglo - American educational system. Main characters are a few students in advanced semesters ( mostly PhD students ) that are already incorporated into the research enterprise. The series is mainly from the daily grind of doctoral students as helpless pawns almighty, cynical professors. However, a constant motif is also the lack of motivation of the characters, have to day internet surfing, e- mailing, Uniaktivitäten and muck like and ultimately not only accepted their ineffective and frustrating academic biotope the day, but even in it feel (also if they would never admit it ).

The author Jorge Cham received his PhD title in the subject " Mechanical Engineering" at Stanford University. This is rarely explicitly mentioned in the comics, but in the background are often characteristic buildings of the Stanford campus to see what implies the famous university in the U.S. state of California as the setting of the series.

Dissemination

The comics appear in print in the newspapers University of Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon and other U.S. universities. The most widely used but they have found as a webcomic.

Meanwhile, five books have been published:

• Piled higher and Deeper: a graduate student comic strip collection (2002, ISBN 978-0-9721695-0-9 )
• Life is tough and then you graduate (2005, ISBN 978-0-9721695-2-3 )
• Scooped! (2007, ISBN 978-0-9721695-3-0 )
• Academic Stimulus Package (2009, ISBN 978-0-9721695-4-7 )
• Adventures in Thesis Country (2012, ISBN 978-0-9721695-5-4 )

There was also a 2012 film adaptation of "The PHD Movie " (ISBN 978-0972169592 ). The screenplay was written by Jorge Cham. The 67- minute film was produced and directed by Vahe Cabuchian by Meg Rosenburg. The main characters are Raj Katti ( Nameless Guy ), Alexandra Lockwood ( Cecilia ), Evans Boney (Mike Slackenerny ), Zachary Abbott ( Professor Smith) and Crystal Dilworth ( Tajel ).

Importance

Under graduate students around the world the comics enjoy cult status. In just three to four pictures a certain state of affairs is often represented concisely than would be possible in page-long essays. Since the main characters represent completely different basic types, each student can practically identify with one or more of them.

Jorge Cham, who held a research position at Caltech after his studies at times (2003-2005), is engaged in now fulltime with the comic. In addition to his work as a draftsman, he gives lectures entitled " The Power of Procrastination " at universities and research institutions worldwide.

The topics

• The main theme is procrastination: the constant postponement of the actual tasks of doctoral students as writing articles, conducting experiments, data analysis, programming, preparation of presentations, or exam preparation. The English word " procrastination " returns again and again and in parts even glorified as a virtue. The main feature is the constant will of the characters, "equal", or begin " in five minutes" with the work. Just one more look after the email, just one click on the WWW ...
• The cynicism of the professors and their indifference to the students. A good example is "Meeting of the Minds", the comic dated 28 May 2005: We see a student who submits the work of the past week with a panicked expression, in his speech bubble just shaky mess of formulas and graphs. Prof. Smith, who sits across from him, just says " Hum, I see ... interesting. " In the thought bubbles of doctoral students it says " Now he has me, he knows that I have done nothing this week ... he looks so dissatisfied ... he thinks I'm worthless " in the thought bubbles by Prof. Smith, however, says:". Mmm, squash with Prof. Jones today, the bastard ... I have to think about it afterwards to get the laundry from the cleaners ... what's it called again this guy? "
• The long study period. Some of these stories revolve around Mike Slackenerny here who has come to terms with its status as a perpetual student. Cecilia, however, suffers from the pass as the years of her with horror she reads the invitation to the class reunion ("I 'm not ready! "). When she discovered a gray hair with him, she has a nightmare as an old woman her doctoral lecture will be delivered (Question from the audience: - "Come," Cecilia is clear to you that your supervisor has 30 years in retirement? " me not so, young man, I have corrected the math problems of your grandfather! ").
• References to elements of geek culture (eg movies like Star Wars or Matrix)
• Chronic lack of money the students. The characters mainly eat ramen noodles, an extremely cheap ready meal. Of particular importance has free food (Free Food), for which the main characters constantly creep into any seminars or receptions.
• The low proportion of women in technical subjects and the pathetic overtures of future engineers and scientists.

The main characters

• Cecilia, an attractive, ambitious and intelligent PhD student in engineering who, however, has realized that it is ultimately also a geek. She is addicted to chocolate, spends every waking minute in the lab and realize how life just rushes past her.
• Mike Slackenerny was presented at the start of the series as the oldest student in the group. No one knows exactly how long he 's there. His day consists of only nap, internet surfing, e- mailing and the hunt for Free Food. After the comic ran for eight years, the author decided to finally let him graduate.
• Tajel is the only one of the main characters that comes from the field of humanities and social sciences. You can start with the geek theme of the other nothing and also does not suffer from their interpersonal deficits. Therefore, they often appear as the rational in the comics. On the other hand, is "working" too many years on her doctoral thesis, has still not been decided even on a topic. Instead, they organized a demonstration after the other and rubs on in political activities.
• The Nameless Guy, the guy with no name, is actually just a normal student. He tries his job as best he can to make, but succumbs repeatedly to the bad influence of Mike or his own resignation, and therefore has a permanent bad conscience. The fact that his name is never mentioned shows how absolutely unimportant he is cynical Unimaschinerie. His frequent occurrence and the enormous potential for identification (he has not even a name ) make it the unofficial heroes of the series. In the 2011 film adaptation of the published series, he is asked by Prof. Smith to his name, which he introduces himself as Winston.
• Prof. Brian S. Smith appeared in the early comics, at best, in the off ( only his balloon was seen ), but after some time he got a face. He has a beard and a bald head, always wearing a tie, a tank top and a pair of glasses. He embodies so even externally a frequently encountered in technical faculties of universities type. He has no life outside the university and its students ultimately considered only as tools. Prof. Smith is the most common in comic professor, since he is the PhD supervisor ( ' Advisor ') of the Nameless Guy and the boss of Mike Slackenerny. The other professors are Prof. Rivera when the doctor father of Tajel and Prof. Jones as the doctor father of Cecilia.

Recurring minor characters are eg Dee, the little sister of the Nameless Guy, Jen and Sophy, wife and daughter of Mike Slackenerny, as well as the children of Prof. Smith, who during the holidays sometimes with a red pen on the theses of students may scribble.

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