History Characters / PHD

* DoesNotLikeShoes: As the hippie-esque SoapboxSadie of the comic, she originally wore sandals, but switched to going totally barefoot once ArtEvolution set in.

* OutOfFocus: Frequently gets shafted from the limelight whenever the series want to delve deeper into the darker side of grad life drama and CharacterDevelopment, and the series would focus more on Cecilia, Mike and Tajel instead. In the movies, however, he is one of the protagonists along with Cecelia.

* AuthorAvatar: Whenever the strips receive a reader's comment/request that needs addressing, Cecilia would be the one to respond to them.

* KnightOfCerebus: It's fairly minor, but whenever she comes into focus, you'll know that the strips would shift from the usual jokes on advisors, thesis and the like to highlight the stress and anxiety that a grad student may face in trying to complete their degree.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When she refused to eat chocolate after breaking up with her boyfriend, Tajel is rightfully concerned by her behaviour.

* BrilliantButLazy: He's a [=PhD=] at Stanford, so that alone should speak of his potential. Unfortunately, he'd rather sleep and eat rather than do anything productive.

* HeavySleeper: When Mike is not trying to mooch free food, he'd most likely be sleeping.

* 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.

* SoapboxSadie: Always has ''some'' cause she's willing to protest, and is prone to forcing her political views on students while [=TA=]-ing
* TeacherStudentRomance: Tajel hooks up one of her faculty Professors, Khumalo, and eventually marries 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 will probably never graduate.

* BigEater: She's almost always eating, and at one point left in the middle of an exam to buy food.

* 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]].

* ScaryShinyGlasses: Whenever he's in his SadistTeacher-mode who makes the grad students' life hell, his spectacles become opaque. Otherwise, it's a normal glasses.
* 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.
* TerseTalker: Prof. Smith's emails tend to be very short and takes only about a second to write.
* {{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.

Another member of the Engineering Faculty, Prof. Jones is Cecilia's research advisor. He tries to be supportive, but is often very vague in his advises to actually be of any help. Has a young daughter, whom he often brings to the campus.

* PutOnABus: He leaves Stanford to work with another university. At first, he tries to continue to advise Tajel via Skype, but the university eventually decided that it's too much of a confusion, and replaced him with someone else.

* HeavySleeper: 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 justification of staying up too late.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Has a male friend she's always hanging out with. The two are inseparable (it is implied that they live together), and she laments over the prospect of not getting in the same school with him, but clearly only considers him a friend.

* HiddenDepths: The students were very surprised to discover that their infamously heartless teacher actually has a sweet wife. They thought she was a robot, at first.

--> "Turning holiday cheer into sheer panic is my favorite part of the season."

* ApatheticTeacher: Doesn't care to remember Tajel's name or even what her research is about, and never gives her any useful advise. In fact, he frequently hinders her progress by telling her to undo and redo her work over and over again.
* CharacterisationMarchesOn: In his initial appearance, he's a more level-headed Professor who bemoans Tajel's apparent lack of seriousness in doing her research. Their roles are eventually reversed, and Tajel becomes the long-suffering student who desperately tries to get advise from him, while Rivera doesn't seem to care about her progress at all.
* PutOnABus: He leaves Stanford to work with another university. At first, he tries to continue to advise Tajel via Skype, but the university eventually decided that it's too much of a confusion, and replaced him with someone else.

* PromotedToLoveInterest: The second film [[spoiler:pairs him up with Cecelia following a ShipTease in the first movie, though this is only [[RelationshipReveal revealed to the audience]] at the end]].

* PromotedToLoveInterest: The second film [[spoiler:pairs her up with Winston (the Nameless Grad Student) following a ShipTease in the first movie, though this is only [[RelationshipReveal revealed to the audience]] at the end]].

* CharacterisationMarchesOn: In his initial appearance, he's a more level-headed Professor who bemoans Tajel's apparent lack of seriousness in doing her research. Their roles were eventually reversed, and Tajel is the long-suffering student who desperately tries to get advise from him, while Rivera doesn't seem to care about her progress at all.

* 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 will probably never graduate.

[[WMG:'''????''']]
The unnamed protagonist who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and works under Professor Smith. Has an older brother (whom Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.

The unnamed protagonist who serves as the typical go-to representative of a graduate student. He majors in engineering and works under Professor Smith. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: She's never seen wearing shoes, and walks either barefoot or with sandals. This highlights her GranolaGirl persona.

* 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.

* PutOnABus: He briefly suspended his [=PhD=] to work with his crush, Mariko. [[TheBusComesBack He later returns]], only to realise that no one had missed him while he was gone.

* PutOnABus: He briefly suspended his [=PhD=] to work with his crush, Mariko. He later returns, only to realise that no one had missed him while he was gone.

One of the few female students in the Engineering faculty. A diligent over-achiever who constantly worries about her inability to properly write her thesis and despairs over the increasing lengths of time that she had wasted in grad school.

* AuthorAvatar: He looks a lot like Jorge Cham, and his once sister mentions how he wants to become a cartoonist.

* NoNameGiven: He's 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.]]

* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: There's really nothing special about his appearance, or character traits, that distinguishes him from other students. In fact, whenever he and his other course mates are seen together, they behave almost exactly the same way (i.e. procrastinate whenever they can, and fumble around in an attempt to make progress with their thesis when they can't).

* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Cecilia had always been too meek to approach her high school crush, Scott, and believes that a popular guy like him wouldn't even be aware that she exists. However, Scott reveals that he actually likes her for being the humble overachiever, and after they reconnect during their high school reunion party, they hook up.

* HappilyMarried: He 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: 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.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Has a male friend she's always hanging out with. The two are inseparable (it is implied that they actually live together), and she laments over the prospect of not getting in the same school with him, but clearly only considers him a friend.

A tenured professor of the Engineering department, who serves as the protagonist's and Mike's research advisor. A stern, uncaring, and at times absent minded, fellow, Prof. Smith generally represents the negative stereotypes associated with research advisors.

Another member of the Engineering Faculty, Prof. Jones is Cecilia's research advisor. He tries to be supportive, but is often very vague in his advices to actually be of any help. Has a young daughter, whom he often brings to the campus.

* PutOnABus: He briefly considers leaving his [=PhD=] to work with his crush, Mariko. He later returns, only to realise that no one had missed him while he was gone.

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. Has an older brother (who Mike knows) and a younger sister named Dee.

The protagonist's younger sister who is currently an undergrad. Carefree and irresponsible, she sees academia as a means to postpone the real world. 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.

* ApathethicTeacher: Doesn't care to remember Tajel's name or even what her research is about, and never gives her any useful advise. In fact, he frequently hinders her progress by telling her to undo and redo her work over and over again.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[[WMG:'''Professor Smith''']]
A SadistTeacher whose past accomplishments are [[MysteriousPast spoken of in whispers by grad students.]] Wears a mix of CoolShades, ScaryShinyGlasses, and OpaqueNerdGlasses.

* {{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.

! Students
!!'''????'''

'''Cecilia'''

'''Mike [[MeaningfulName Slackenerny]]'''

'''Tajel'''

'''Dee'''

'''Professor Smith'''