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Changed line(s) 5,32 (click to see context) from:
The characters are a bunch of graduate students at Stanford University. They obsess about ever getting their theses completed, struggle to make ends meet with their meager stipends, wonder why life is passing them by, and slack off while their supervisors aren't looking.
The main characters are:
'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
'''Cecilia'''
An engineering grad and OnlySaneMan of the bunch who just recently came to crushing realization that she is, in fact, a geek. Almost always seen in the same bright red shirt. Prof. Jones is her adviser.
'''Mike [[MeaningfulName Slackenerny]]'''
TheSlacker, who has been at grad school longer than any other character. He has a surprising amount of luck in his quest to obtain free food, though this has not endeared him to the faculty. The only one who actually graduated. Now a post-doc. Prof. Smith was his adviser.
'''Tajel'''
A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student who is constantly finding causes to rally protests. She's Cecilia's house mate and best friend, though she's much more easygoing than the latter. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
'''Professor Smith'''
A SadistTeacher whose past accomplishments are [[MysteriousPast spoken of in whispers by grad students.]] Wears a mix of CoolShades, ScaryShinyGlasses, and OpaqueNerdGlasses.
The main characters are:
'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
'''Cecilia'''
An engineering grad and OnlySaneMan of the bunch who just recently came to crushing realization that she is, in fact, a geek. Almost always seen in the same bright red shirt. Prof. Jones is her adviser.
'''Mike [[MeaningfulName Slackenerny]]'''
TheSlacker, who has been at grad school longer than any other character. He has a surprising amount of luck in his quest to obtain free food, though this has not endeared him to the faculty. The only one who actually graduated. Now a post-doc. Prof. Smith was his adviser.
'''Tajel'''
A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student who is constantly finding causes to rally protests. She's Cecilia's house mate and best friend, though she's much more easygoing than the latter. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
'''Professor Smith'''
A SadistTeacher whose past accomplishments are [[MysteriousPast spoken of in whispers by grad students.]] Wears a mix of CoolShades, ScaryShinyGlasses, and OpaqueNerdGlasses.
to:
The characters are a bunch comics depict the typical life of graduate students at in Stanford University. They University: how they obsess about ever getting their theses completed, struggle to make ends meet with their meager stipends, wonder why life is passing them by, and slack off while their supervisors aren't looking.
The main characters are:
'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
'''Cecilia'''
An engineering grad and OnlySaneMan of the bunch who just recently came to crushing realization that she is, in fact, a geek. Almost always seen in the same bright red shirt. Prof. Jones is her adviser.
'''Mike [[MeaningfulName Slackenerny]]'''
TheSlacker, who has been at grad school longer than any other character. He[[Characters/PHD Now has a surprising amount of luck in his quest to obtain free food, though this has not endeared him to the faculty. The only one who actually graduated. Now a post-doc. Prof. Smith was his adviser.
'''Tajel'''
A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student who is constantly finding causes to rally protests. She's Cecilia's house mate and best friend, though she's much more easygoing than the latter. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
'''Professor Smith'''
A SadistTeacher whose past accomplishments are [[MysteriousPast spoken of in whispers by grad students.]] Wears a mix of CoolShades, ScaryShinyGlasses, and OpaqueNerdGlasses.
character page.]]
'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
'''Cecilia'''
An engineering grad and OnlySaneMan of the bunch who just recently came to crushing realization that she is, in fact, a geek. Almost always seen in the same bright red shirt. Prof. Jones is her adviser.
'''Mike [[MeaningfulName Slackenerny]]'''
TheSlacker, who has been at grad school longer than any other character. He
'''Tajel'''
A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student who is constantly finding causes to rally protests. She's Cecilia's house mate and best friend, though she's much more easygoing than the latter. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
'''Professor Smith'''
A SadistTeacher whose past accomplishments are [[MysteriousPast spoken of in whispers by grad students.]] Wears a mix of CoolShades, ScaryShinyGlasses, and OpaqueNerdGlasses.
Deleted line(s) 43,44 (click to see context) :
* AudienceSurrogate: The protagonist has no name or any distinctive personality, and could represent just about any Grad Student.
* AuthorAvatar: Whenever the strips receive a reader's comment/request that needs addressing, Cecilia would be the one to respond to them.
* AuthorAvatar: Whenever the strips receive a reader's comment/request that needs addressing, Cecilia would be the one to respond to them.
Deleted line(s) 46,48 (click to see context) :
* BigEater:
** Whenever he's not sleeping, Mike would likely by sneaking around association meets trying to steal food.
** Dee, the main character's younger sister, is almost always eating, and at one point left in the middle of an exam to buy food.
** Whenever he's not sleeping, Mike would likely by sneaking around association meets trying to steal food.
** Dee, the main character's younger sister, is almost always eating, and at one point left in the middle of an exam to buy food.
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* DoesNotLikeShoes: Tajel sometimes, as part of her GranolaGirl personality.
* EatingLunchAlone: Doing it at the campus cafeteria makes Cecilia feel unbearably self-conscious.
* EatingLunchAlone: Doing it at the campus cafeteria makes Cecilia feel unbearably self-conscious.
Deleted line(s) 71,75 (click to see context) :
%%* GranolaGirl: Tajel.
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before eloping with her in Las Vegas.
* HeavySleeper:
** When Mike is not trying to mooch free food, he'd most likely be sleeping.
** To a lesser extent, Dee. She could barely wake up on time to attend an 11 o'clock class, and would fall asleep in class anyway. She doesn't even have the justificiation of staying up too late.
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before eloping with her in Las Vegas.
* HeavySleeper:
** When Mike is not trying to mooch free food, he'd most likely be sleeping.
** To a lesser extent, Dee. She could barely wake up on time to attend an 11 o'clock class, and would fall asleep in class anyway. She doesn't even have the justificiation of staying up too late.
Deleted line(s) 77 (click to see context) :
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Cecilia with her secret high school crush. She finds out ten years later that he had noticed her all right.
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* InVinoVeritas: Played with. The shy and reclusive Cecilia turns into the LifeOfTheParty not because of drunkenness, but from a chocolate high.
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* MeaningfulName: The resident RidiculousProcrastinator is creatively named Mike Slackenerny.
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* NerdGlasses: The main character is the embodiment of a stereotypical, dorky grad student. Naturally, he wears a pair of glasses.
Deleted line(s) 97 (click to see context) :
* NoNameGiven: The main character of the strip is never referred to by name. Jorge uses him to depict himself in his "Tales from the Road", where he visits other universities. In the movie, [[spoiler:his name is revealed to be Winston.]]
Deleted line(s) 99,100 (click to see context) :
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]]. When he was about to submit his thesis to ''finally'' graduate, he actually have a whole crowd of grad students watching him, as though it was a parade.
* OutOfFocus: The main character briefly got shafted out of the limelight when he decided to quit his [=PhD=], with the subsequent strips focusing more on Mike, Cecelia, Tajel and Dee.
* OutOfFocus: The main character briefly got shafted out of the limelight when he decided to quit his [=PhD=], with the subsequent strips focusing more on Mike, Cecelia, Tajel and Dee.
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* PlatonicLifePartners: Dee is always hanging out with this one guy, and laments at the prospect of not getting in the same grad school as him. Even the guy is surprised that they're "just friends".
* ProfessionalSlacker: Inverted with Mike, who would ''much'' rather do household chores and take care of his kid rather than work on his research/thesis.
* ProfessionalSlacker: Inverted with Mike, who would ''much'' rather do household chores and take care of his kid rather than work on his research/thesis.
Deleted line(s) 111 (click to see context) :
* RidiculousProcrastinator: Mike has started procrastination journey from the moment ''[[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd103002s.gif he was born]]''.
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* SadistTeacher: Smith clearly enjoys overworking the grad students and post-docs, and spoiling their holidays for them.
--> "Turning holiday cheer into sheer panic is my favorite part of the season."
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Whenever Prof. Smith is being depicted as a SadistTeacher who makes the grad students' life hell, his spectacles become opaque. Otherwise, it's a normal glasses.
--> "Turning holiday cheer into sheer panic is my favorite part of the season."
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Whenever Prof. Smith is being depicted as a SadistTeacher who makes the grad students' life hell, his spectacles become opaque. Otherwise, it's a normal glasses.
Deleted line(s) 118 (click to see context) :
* ShroudedInMyth: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1395 There are many rumours about Prof. Smith's past floating around the campus.]] How many of them are acttually true is up to debate.
Deleted line(s) 133,135 (click to see context) :
* TeacherStudentRomance: Tajel dated one of her faculty Professors, Khumalo, and eventually married him. In an interesting variation of the trope, the teacher is actually ''younger'' than the student because Tajel is another one of those eternal grad students who would probably never graduate.
* TerseTalker: Prof. Smith's email tends to be very short and takes only about a second to write.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Cecilia has an addiction for chocolate and cookies (except raisin ones).
* TerseTalker: Prof. Smith's email tends to be very short and takes only about a second to write.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Cecilia has an addiction for chocolate and cookies (except raisin ones).
Deleted line(s) 143 (click to see context) :
* {{Workaholic}}: Professor Smith doesn't believe in holidays, and would rather stay at the campus to continue his research, than go on a vacation with his family. Even when he's forced to go anyway, he'll be bringing his laptop and continue to monitor his grad students and postdocs through emails while being away.
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A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student, she is constantly finding causes to rally protests. A GranolaGirl and proud of it. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
to:
A humanities- er, ''Social Science'' student, she student who is constantly finding causes to rally protests. A GranolaGirl She's Cecilia's house mate and proud of it.best friend, though she's much more easygoing than the latter. Prof. Rivera is her adviser.
adviser.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
'''Dee'''
The protagonist's younger sister who would eventually enrol in Standford as an undergrad. Like her brother, she sees the world of academics as a way to postpone real life, and is a lot more cavalier in her (irresponsible) attitude about it. Hasn't really figured out what she wants to do, has no major, and are more concerned about enjoying her freedom as a university student than actually achieving a degree.
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* AuthorAvatar: Whenever the strips receive a reader's comment/request that needs addressing, Cecilia would be the one to respond to them.
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Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier strips]], all the University professors were portrayed as a bunch of sinister, faceless organisation who goes out their way to make the students' lives more difficult, especially during Quals. Now, they're mostly given distinct appearance and personality: Professor Smith is still the mean SternTeacher, Professor Jones tries to be helpful but is often scatterbrained, Professor Rivera is very flippant and easygoing, but doesn't really pay attention to what his students are doing.
to:
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier strips]], all the University professors were portrayed as a bunch collective group of sinister, faceless organisation HiveMind who goes out their way to make the students' lives more difficult, especially during Quals. Now, they're mostly given distinct appearance and personality: personalities: Professor Smith is still the mean SternTeacher, Professor Jones tries to be helpful but is often scatterbrained, Professor Rivera is very flippant and easygoing, but doesn't really pay attention to what his students are doing.
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Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier strips]], all the University professors were portrayed as a bunch of sinister, faceless organisation who goes out their way to make the students' lives more difficult, especially during Quals. Now, they're mostly given distinct appearance and personality: Professor Smith is still the stern MeanTeacher, Professor Jones tries to be helpful but is often scatterbrained, Professor Rivera is very flippant and easygoing, but doesn't really pay attention to what his students are doing.
to:
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier strips]], all the University professors were portrayed as a bunch of sinister, faceless organisation who goes out their way to make the students' lives more difficult, especially during Quals. Now, they're mostly given distinct appearance and personality: Professor Smith is still the stern MeanTeacher, mean SternTeacher, Professor Jones tries to be helpful but is often scatterbrained, Professor Rivera is very flippant and easygoing, but doesn't really pay attention to what his students are doing.
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: To keep going, the series needs the characters to remain grad students, meaning they have to postpone the completion of their respective theses indefinitely. Ultimately averted with Mike, who does complete his own thesis after years of procrastination, but stays anyway as a member of the teaching staff.
to:
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: To keep going, the series needs the characters to remain grad students, meaning they have to postpone the completion of their respective theses indefinitely. Ultimately averted with Mike, who does complete Mike ultimately subverts this; having been the oldest grad student for several years, he finally manages to finish his own thesis dissertation after years of procrastination, procrastination and graduate, but stays anyway as a member of the teaching staff.
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* OverlyLongScream: The main character managed to scream for "[[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd112706s.gif one week and counting]]".
to:
* OverlyLongScream: The main character managed to scream for "[[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd112706s.gif one week and counting]]".counting]]" after he discovered that someone else had written about his research topic.
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Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
* CueTheFlyingPigs: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=590 Actual flying pigs flocked over through the university hall]], while Hell freezes over when it was revealed that Mike might actually graduate.
to:
* CueTheFlyingPigs: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=590 Actual An actual flock of flying pigs flocked were seen over through the university hall]], campus]], while Hell freezes over when it was revealed that Mike might actually graduate.
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Dee's friend has a dark skin, but he has no name or distinctive features to determine his actual race.
to:
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Dee's friend has a dark skin, but he has no name or distinctive features to determine his actual race.race (unlike Tajel, who we know is half-Indian from her mother).
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
* BigEater: Dee, the main character's younger sister.
to:
* BigEater: BigEater:
** Whenever he's not sleeping, Mike would likely by sneaking around association meets trying to steal food.
** Dee, the main character's youngersister.sister, is almost always eating, and at one point left in the middle of an exam to buy food.
** Whenever he's not sleeping, Mike would likely by sneaking around association meets trying to steal food.
** Dee, the main character's younger
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Changed line(s) 54 (click to see context) from:
* CueTheFlyingPigs: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=590 Here]]. Also, Hell Freezes Over. Guess what just happened.
to:
* CueTheFlyingPigs: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=590 Here]]. Also, Actual flying pigs flocked over through the university hall]], while Hell Freezes Over. Guess what just happened.freezes over when it was revealed that Mike might actually graduate.
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* DivergentCharacterEvolution: In the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier strips]], all the University professors were portrayed as a bunch of sinister, faceless organisation who goes out their way to make the students' lives more difficult, especially during Quals. Now, they're mostly given distinct appearance and personality: Professor Smith is still the stern MeanTeacher, Professor Jones tries to be helpful but is often scatterbrained, Professor Rivera is very flippant and easygoing, but doesn't really pay attention to what his students are doing.
Changed line(s) 63,64 (click to see context) from:
* GranolaGirl: Tajel.
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before eloping with her in Las Vegas.
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before eloping with her in Las Vegas.
to:
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer
Changed line(s) 68 (click to see context) from:
* HeroicBSOD: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1383 Literally]].
to:
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Changed line(s) 48 (click to see context) from:
* ChildProdigy: Professor Jones's daughter is only first year elementary school, but is able to fix some grad student's work.
to:
* ChildProdigy: Professor Jones's daughter is only first year elementary school, but is able intelligent enough to fix some grad student's work.Mike's research data.
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* VagueAge: No one really knows how old any of the characters are, since most of them are grad students who have spent countless of years in their program and not showing any signs of graduating soon, despite their constant lament that they're getting older and older as the years goes by. And given that Mike's baby daughter visibly ages over time, the setting probably ''doesn't'' run on ComicBookTime.
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Deleted line(s) 61 (click to see context) :
** As the main character [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=359 put it]] in a [[BreakTheFourthWall press conference]] in 2003, "Basically, if Mike graduates, we're all out of a job..."
Changed line(s) 110 (click to see context) from:
* ShoutOut: [[TheSixthSense I see]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1448 post-docs!]]
to:
* ShoutOut: [[TheSixthSense [[Film/TheSixthSense I see]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1448 post-docs!]]
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'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist]] who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Prof. Smith is his adviser. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.
Deleted line(s) 21,24 (click to see context) :
'''????'''
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist.]] Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee. Sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Wonders why nobody ever uses his name. Prof. Smith is his adviser.
[[NoNameGiven The unnamed protagonist.]] Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee. Sees grad school as a good way to postpone the real world. Wonders why nobody ever uses his name. Prof. Smith is his adviser.
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Added DiffLines:
* SkewedPriorities: Mike can remember "important stuffs" like who is the colorist for a particular ''ComicBook/XMen'' issue, but forgets to take Quals, which he needed to graduate.
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Changed line(s) 46,47 (click to see context) from:
** Tajel. At first, Tajel demonstrates all sorts of semi-stereotypical things, such as camping out at the mall after Thanksgiving to take advantage of Black Friday sales. This changed soon enough, of course...
** Professor Smith changed too. Originally he was TheFaceless (see ScaryShinyGlasses below), then started to become more of an AbsentMindedProfessor. Later, he just became a professor with a serious LackOfEmpathy.
** Professor Smith changed too. Originally he was TheFaceless (see ScaryShinyGlasses below), then started to become more of an AbsentMindedProfessor. Later, he just became a professor with a serious LackOfEmpathy.
to:
** Tajel. At first, When we see Tajel demonstrates all sorts of semi-stereotypical things, such as camping out at interact with Prof. Rivera for the mall after Thanksgiving first time, he was lamenting her lack of apparent seriousness in her studies, especially when she chose to take advantage write about "The Grad student of Black Friday sales. This changed soon enough, Academia" for her research topic. Nowadays, their dynamics are reversed, as Rivera becomes the most egregious example of course...
AbsentMindedProfessor who never reads Tajel's draft and gives her useless advice, while Tajel desperately tries to get his support in writing her thesis.
** Professor Smith changed too. Originally he wasTheFaceless (see ScaryShinyGlasses below), TheFaceless, then started to become more of an AbsentMindedProfessor.AbsentMindedProfessor who tries to blend in with the students despite being clueless of their trends. Later, he just became a professor with a serious LackOfEmpathy.
** Professor Smith changed too. Originally he was
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Changed line(s) 113 (click to see context) from:
* SpitTake: Cecilia pulls one on purpose [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1123 here]].
to:
* SpitTake: Cecilia pulls one on purpose is prone to do this.
** [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1123here]].When Tajel tells her she's getting married]], she deliberately took a gulp from her drink so that she can spray it out in surprise.
** She also accidentally spurts her drink on Scott when the latter mentioned that he had a job offer in London.
** [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1123
** She also accidentally spurts her drink on Scott when the latter mentioned that he had a job offer in London.
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Changed line(s) 132 (click to see context) from:
* {{Workaholic}}: Professor Smith doesn't believe in holidays, and would have rather sent one of his Post-docs to go on vacation with his family than actually enjoy a time off himself.
to:
* {{Workaholic}}: Professor Smith doesn't believe in holidays, and would have rather sent one of stay at the campus to continue his Post-docs to research, than go on a vacation with his family than actually enjoy a time off himself.family. Even when he's forced to go anyway, he'll be bringing his laptop and continue to monitor his grad students and postdocs through emails while being away.
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Added DiffLines:
* RhymesOnADime: A lot of the comics' punchlines come from characters bantering with each other in rhymes. One example is the MiseryPoker mentioned earlier, and another is the following exchange between Cecelia and her advisor.
--> '''Cecelia:''' I have to reference... without deference?
--> '''Prof. Jones:''' That's the preference.
--> '''Cecelia:''' I have to reference... without deference?
--> '''Prof. Jones:''' That's the preference.
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* MiseryPoker: A humorous variation took place during the ''[=PhD=] widows'' meeting between Scott and Jenny as they ranted on their respective partners, Cecelia and Mike.
--> '''Scott:''' Cecelia seems to have lost her way... She has a lot of work ethic but lacks purpose.
--> '''Jennifer:''' My husband, on the other hand, has a baby on the way, but his work is pathetic and slacks on purpose.
--> '''Scott:''' Cecelia seems to have lost her way... She has a lot of work ethic but lacks purpose.
--> '''Jennifer:''' My husband, on the other hand, has a baby on the way, but his work is pathetic and slacks on purpose.
Changed line(s) 106 (click to see context) from:
* TheSlacker: While several characters are slackers to some extent, Mike Slackenerny stands head and shoulders above the rest in this regard. An eternal student, he's the '[=PhD=]'' answer to ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'''s Zonker Harris.
to:
* TheSlacker: While several characters are slackers to some extent, Mike Slackenerny stands head and shoulders above the rest in this regard. An eternal student, he's the '[=PhD=]'' ''[=PhD=]'' answer to ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'''s Zonker Harris.
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Added DiffLines:
* {{Workaholic}}: Professor Smith doesn't believe in holidays, and would have rather sent one of his Post-docs to go on vacation with his family than actually enjoy a time off himself.
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* CutenessOverload: Most of the campus faculty practically melts at the sight of Mike's baby daughter, Sophie. He exploits this to distract them while he steals food from associations he doesn't belong to.
Changed line(s) 108 (click to see context) from:
* StatusQuoIsGod: Lampshaded. The characters like to point out to freshmen that they were already in university when the latter were middle-schoolers.
to:
* StatusQuoIsGod: Lampshaded. The characters like to point out to freshmen that they were already in university when No matter what happened over the latter were middle-schoolers. events of the comics, nothing about the characters' dynamic and troubles would really change.
** Mike finally graduated from his Ph.D, but he continues to stick around the campus as a Post-Doc whose activities mostly involve sleeping, napping and scavenging for free food.
** Prof. Rivera left Stanford for a position in another University, but continues to serve as Tajel's adviser. Since he barely communicate with his student or give her useful advice anyway, his departure has no virtually effect to her thesis.
** Mike finally graduated from his Ph.D, but he continues to stick around the campus as a Post-Doc whose activities mostly involve sleeping, napping and scavenging for free food.
** Prof. Rivera left Stanford for a position in another University, but continues to serve as Tajel's adviser. Since he barely communicate with his student or give her useful advice anyway, his departure has no virtually effect to her thesis.
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* SadistTeacher: Smith clearly enjoys overworking the grad students and post-docs, and spoiling their holidays for them.
--> "Turning holiday cheer into sheer panic is my favorite part of the season."
--> "Turning holiday cheer into sheer panic is my favorite part of the season."
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Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
** Gerard, the token Humanities student, who was told by the PHD Comics management that he should either change his major or leave the comics altogether. He was then forced to attend a hearing to justify his existence, and had not appeared ever since.
to:
** PlayedForLaughs with Gerard, the token Humanities student, who was told by the PHD Comics management that he should either change his major or leave the comics altogether. He was then forced to attend a hearing to justify his existence, and had not appeared ever since.
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Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* TheAce: The "Golden Boy".
to:
* AcceptableTargets: [[invoked]] Since the comics are drawn from the perspective of grad students, it frequently makes fun of research advisers and undergrads.
%%* TheAce: The "Golden Boy".
%%* TheAce: The "Golden Boy".
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Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: [[GranolaGirl Tajel] often carries protest signboards for various causes.
to:
* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: [[GranolaGirl Tajel] Tajel]] often carries protest signboards for various causes.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
** Scott all but disappeared from the storyline after he broke up with Cecilia.
** Gerard, the token Humanities student, who was told by the PHD Comics management that he should either change his major or leave the comics altogether. He was then forced to attend a hearing to justify his existence, and had not appeared ever since.
** Scott all but disappeared from the storyline after he broke up with Cecilia.
** Gerard, the token Humanities student, who was told by the PHD Comics management that he should either change his major or leave the comics altogether. He was then forced to attend a hearing to justify his existence, and had not appeared ever since.
Changed line(s) 60 (click to see context) from:
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before marrying her in Las Vegas.
to:
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before marrying eloping with her in Las Vegas.
Changed line(s) 109 (click to see context) from:
* TerseTalker: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1444 One of the signs that you really screwed up.]]
to:
* TerseTalker: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1444 One of the signs that you really screwed up.]] Prof. Smith's email tends to be very short and takes only about a second to write.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Cecilia has an addiction for chocolate and cookies (except raisin ones).
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: Cecilia has an addiction for chocolate and cookies (except raisin ones).
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* AudienceSurrogate: The protagonist has no name or any distinctive personality, and could represent just about any Grad Student.
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* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: The "How You Spend Your Time" pie chart has a Sports & Leisure section which consist of surfing the internet, doing sports, and reading about sports while surfing the Internet.
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* GagSeries: The main point of the strips are to make jokes about the life (or lack thereof) of a grad student, and make fun of the research advisors and Academia in general. When the strips briefly went for a more detailed plot and character development, some readers actually complain.
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Changed line(s) 32 (click to see context) from:
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Almost all of the Research Advisors introduced. They can barely remember the students' name, and doesn't bother to read their thesis draft.
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* AbsentMindedProfessor: Almost all of the Research Advisors introduced. They can barely remember the students' name, and doesn't hardly ever bother to read their thesis draft.
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: Dee's friend has a dark skin, but has no name or distinctive features to determine his actual race.
to:
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Dee's friend has a dark skin, but he has no name or distinctive features to determine his actual race.
* ComicBookTime: Every year, the strip features the characters celebrating birthdays, summer vacations and various holidays, but despite their constant complains that they're never graduating, they never seem to actually age. Cecelia lampshades this in one of her birthday strips, in which she decided that the time she spends in grad school doesn't count to her age, because it's basically living in a vacuum.
Deleted line(s) 49 (click to see context) :
* DullSurprise: Prof. Smith [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1451 apparently]]. Also true of [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1831998591/the-phd-movie-2-still-in-grad-school/posts/896263 his film persona]].
Changed line(s) 57,58 (click to see context) from:
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before marrying her in Las Vegas.
* HeavySleeper: The main character, Mike Slackenerny, and increasingly Dee.
* HeavySleeper: The main character, Mike Slackenerny, and increasingly Dee.
to:
* HappilyMarried: Mike and his wife Jennifer seem to have a happy, stable relationship, even though she does occasionally get exasperated with his laziness. Pretty surprising, considering how he only knew her for ''a week'' before marrying her in Las Vegas.
*HeavySleeper: The main character, HeavySleeper:
** When MikeSlackenerny, is not trying to mooch free food, he'd most likely be sleeping.
** To a lesser extent, Dee. She could barely wake up on time to attend an 11 o'clock class, andincreasingly Dee.would fall asleep in class anyway. She doesn't even have the justificiation of staying up too late.
*
** When Mike
** To a lesser extent, Dee. She could barely wake up on time to attend an 11 o'clock class, and
* MetaGuy: Gerard, the Humanities student RecurringCharacter, only exists to represent another Grad School department apart from engineering. He's definitely aware of this, and most of his appearances have him address the readers in some way.
Changed line(s) 70 (click to see context) from:
* NerdGlasses: The main character.
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* NerdGlasses: The main character.character is the embodiment of a stereotypical, dorky grad student. Naturally, he wears a pair of glasses.
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* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]].
to:
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]]. When he was about to submit his thesis to ''finally'' graduate, he actually have a whole crowd of grad students watching him, as though it was a parade.
* PerpetualFrowner: Prof. Smith's default expression is that of a stern glare, [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1451 and it remains so, even as his mood changes]]. Also true of [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1831998591/the-phd-movie-2-still-in-grad-school/posts/896263 his film persona]].
* ProfessionalSlacker: Inverted with Mike, who would ''much'' rather do household chores and take care of his kid rather than work on his research/thesis.
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* ScaryShinyGlasses: Prof. Smith
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* ScaryShinyGlasses: Whenever Prof. SmithSmith is being depicted as a SadistTeacher who makes the grad students' life hell, his spectacles become opaque. Otherwise, it's a normal glasses.
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* StarvingStudent: Basically the entire cast.
to:
* StarvingStudent: Basically All of the entire cast.students, who lives off instant ramen, and spends a lot of their time scavenging for free food.
Changed line(s) 96 (click to see context) from:
* TakeThat: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1156 This strip]] pokes fun at TV shows that get the science wrong. [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1391 This strip]] does the same to movies that also get the science wrong.
to:
* TakeThat: TakeThat:
** [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1156 This strip]] pokes fun at TV shows that get the science wrong. [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1391 This strip]] does the same to movies that also get the science wrong.
** [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1156 This strip]] pokes fun at TV shows that get the science wrong. [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1391 This strip]] does the same to movies that also get the science wrong.
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* TerseTalker: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1444 One of the signs that you really screwed up.]] The other is...
** PurpleProse
* WalkingTechbane: Prof. Smith, shown as an example of how this trope works in [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=821 this strip]].
** PurpleProse
* WalkingTechbane: Prof. Smith, shown as an example of how this trope works in [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=821 this strip]].
to:
* TeacherStudentRomance: Tajel dated one of her faculty Professors, Khumalo, and eventually married him. In an interesting variation of the trope, the teacher is actually ''younger'' than the student because Tajel is another one of those eternal grad students who would probably never graduate.
* TerseTalker: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1444 One of the signs that you really screwed up.]] The other is...
** PurpleProse
]]
* WalkingTechbane:Prof. Smith, As shown as an example of how this trope works in [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=821 this strip]].strip]], research advisors have the uncanny ability to make any project malfunction in their close vicinity.
* TerseTalker: [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1444 One of the signs that you really screwed up.
** PurpleProse
* WalkingTechbane:
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* AbsentMindedProfessor: Almost all of the Research Advisors introduced. They can barely remember the students' name, and doesn't bother to read their thesis draft.
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Changed line(s) 77 (click to see context) from:
* OOCIsASeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]].
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* OOCIsASeriousBusiness: OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]].
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* OverlyLongScream: The main character managed to scream for "[[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd112706s.gif one week and counting]]".
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* OOCIsASeriousBusiness: Everyone is freaked out to see [[TheSlacker Mike]] [[http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=722 actually working]].
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Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: [[GranolaGirl Tajel]] often does this.
to:
* AllIssuesArePoliticalIssues: [[GranolaGirl Tajel]] Tajel] often does this. carries protest signboards for various causes.
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* TheFaceless: Most of the research advisors don't get drawn in the comic panels, at least in the earlier strips. No longer the case since the 2003 strips.
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* LivingProp: Discussed in-universe regarding the status of grad students. Apparently, the faculty would be more likely to notice an actual missing furniture than they would a missing student.
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* RecurringCharacter: Scott. He's Cecelia's boyfriend, but since he's not a Stanford student, he is actually featured less frequently than the nameless {{Living Prop}}s that are the Engineering Grad students. Lampshaded by Tajel when he suddenly shows up after a long absence.
-->''"Scott? I feel I haven't seen him in years''
-->''"Scott? I feel I haven't seen him in years''
