📖 Overview
Jorge Cham is a cartoonist, roboticist, and public speaker best known for creating the popular web comic series "PHD Comics" (Piled Higher and Deeper), which chronicles the lives and struggles of graduate students in academia.
Originally from Panama, Cham earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and worked as an instructor at Caltech, where he began drawing comics about graduate student life. His comic series gained significant following in academic circles and has been adapted into two feature films.
Beyond cartooning, Cham co-founded PHDtv and has written several books including "We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe" with Daniel Whiteson. He regularly gives talks at universities about procrastination and the graduate student experience, having spoken at over 300 institutions worldwide.
His work bridges science communication and humor, with his comics and books being used in university courses and academic settings to discuss the culture of higher education. The PHD Comics series has been published in several languages and appears in numerous university newspapers.
👀 Reviews
Readers value Cham's accurate portrayal of graduate student life through PHD Comics, with many saying his comics helped them feel less alone during their PhD programs. On Goodreads, reviewers frequently mention his ability to capture specific academic experiences like adviser relationships, publishing pressure, and lab work frustrations.
What readers like:
- Relatable humor about academia
- Simple but effective art style
- Translation of complex scientific concepts into accessible formats
- Educational value while remaining entertaining
What readers dislike:
- Repetitive themes in later comics
- Some jokes too specific to certain academic fields
- Recent work seen as less focused on graduate student experiences
Ratings across platforms:
- Goodreads: "We Have No Idea" - 4.2/5 (2,800+ ratings)
- Amazon: PHD Comics collections average 4.5/5
- PHD Comics website: 1,000+ reader comments per month
One PhD student reviewer noted: "Reading these comics during my comprehensive exams kept me sane - Cham gets exactly what we're going through."
📚 Books by Jorge Cham
Piled Higher and Deeper: A Graduate Student Comic Strip Collection
First collection of comic strips following the lives of graduate students, focusing on research, academia, and thesis work.
Life is Tough and Then You Graduate: The Second Collection of Piled Higher and Deeper Continuation of graduate student comics exploring themes of procrastination, advisor relationships, and lab work.
Scooped! The Third Piled Higher and Deeper Comic Strip Collection Comic collection depicting graduate student experiences with publishing, conferences, and academic competition.
Academic Stimulus Package Collection of comics examining academic life during economic challenges and funding pressures.
The PHD Movie: Still in Grad School Companion book to the film adaptation of the Piled Higher and Deeper comics, including behind-the-scenes content and selected strips.
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe Co-authored with Daniel Whiteson, explaining major unsolved mysteries in modern physics and cosmology through illustrations and text.
Life is Tough and Then You Graduate: The Second Collection of Piled Higher and Deeper Continuation of graduate student comics exploring themes of procrastination, advisor relationships, and lab work.
Scooped! The Third Piled Higher and Deeper Comic Strip Collection Comic collection depicting graduate student experiences with publishing, conferences, and academic competition.
Academic Stimulus Package Collection of comics examining academic life during economic challenges and funding pressures.
The PHD Movie: Still in Grad School Companion book to the film adaptation of the Piled Higher and Deeper comics, including behind-the-scenes content and selected strips.
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe Co-authored with Daniel Whiteson, explaining major unsolved mysteries in modern physics and cosmology through illustrations and text.
👥 Similar authors
Randall Munroe creates science-focused comics and provides explanations of complex topics through illustrations. His work "xkcd" and books like "What If?" share the same approach of making technical concepts accessible through humor as Cham does with PhD Comics.
Larry Gonick produces educational comics covering science, math, and academic topics in series like the Cartoon Guide books. His style combines factual accuracy with visual storytelling to explain complicated subjects.
Scott McCloud writes about comics as a medium while using the comic format itself to convey information. His work "Understanding Comics" breaks down complex ideas about art and communication similar to how Cham analyzes academia.
Gene Luen Yang creates comics that explore academic and cultural experiences in educational settings. His work addresses themes of identity and learning that parallel Cham's focus on student life and academia.
Sydney Padua combines historical facts with technical concepts in comic form through works like "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage." Her integration of computing history and humor matches Cham's approach to making academic subjects engaging through comics.
Larry Gonick produces educational comics covering science, math, and academic topics in series like the Cartoon Guide books. His style combines factual accuracy with visual storytelling to explain complicated subjects.
Scott McCloud writes about comics as a medium while using the comic format itself to convey information. His work "Understanding Comics" breaks down complex ideas about art and communication similar to how Cham analyzes academia.
Gene Luen Yang creates comics that explore academic and cultural experiences in educational settings. His work addresses themes of identity and learning that parallel Cham's focus on student life and academia.
Sydney Padua combines historical facts with technical concepts in comic form through works like "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage." Her integration of computing history and humor matches Cham's approach to making academic subjects engaging through comics.