Jorge Cham, a former Instructor at Caltech and the cartoonist behind the popular comic strip, is available to talk at your school.



  Often called the “Dilbert” of academia, Piled Higher and Deeper is the funny and unique comic strip about life (or the lack thereof) in grad school.

Called “hilarious” by the Chronicle of Higher Education website, P.H.D. appears in several university newspapers, including Stanford, MIT, Caltech and Carnegie Mellon. It is also published online at www.phdcomics.com, where it receives over 2 million page views a month from over 1000 universities and colleges worldwide, including yours!
 
A recent survey by U.C. Berkeley found that 95% of all graduate students feel overwhelmed, and over 67% have felt seriously depressed at some point in their careers. In this talk, Jorge Cham recounts his experiences bringing humor into the lives of stressed out academics, examines the source of their anxieties and explores the guilt, the myth, and the power of procrastination.


“Jorge Cham's talk was humorous and helpful. His cartoon strip has been a giant plus in helping graduate students acknowledge and cope with the stress they experience."
- Isaac Colbert, Dean of Graduate Students, M.I.T.

"I've never heard so many graduate students *really* laughing at the same time!"
- Jory Zmuda Ruscio, Chair, Graduate Life Center's Speaker Series, Virginia Tech

"The message of the presentation really resonated with our students. The graduate school journey can be extremely isolating, and Jorge Cham's presentation and comics normalize the experience and provide solace and humor.“
- John Nonnamaker, Graduate Student Career Development, M.I.T.



Click here for a sample clip of Jorge's lecture at Caltech, in which he talks about the four types of e-mails he receives from readers (quicktime required).

Photos from appearances:

Caltech
May 26, 2005
Attendance: 90

Stanford U.
May 20, 2005
Attendance: 50

M.I.T
 May 12, 2005
Attendance: 200

 


Harvard U.
May 11, 2005
Attendance: 20





Winter 2006 Tour photos: Purdue Univ., Kansas State Univ., Univ. Texas Med. Branch, Univ. Illinois Urbana Champaign, Purdue Univ., Univ. Calgary
*Please note that attendance will vary significantly depending on your school.

Previous Talks
Date School Attendees
May 12 2005 Massachusetts Inst. Of Technology 250 attendees
May 20 2005 California Institute of Technology 90 attendees
Sept. 30 2005 University Colorado Boulder 150 attendees
Oct. 20 2005 University of Utah 250 attendees
Oct. 24 2005 Rice University 150 attendees
Oct. 25 2005 Georgia Tech 180 attendees
Oct. 27 2005 NC State 160 attendees
Oct. 28 2005 Virginia Tech 125 attendees
Oct. 31 2005 Virginia Commonwealth University 20 attendees
Nov. 1 2005 University of Virginia 125 attendees
Nov. 2 2005 Johns Hopkins U. Main Campus 125 attendees
Nov. 3 2005 U. Maryland 150 attendees
Nov. 4 2005 Johns Hopkins U. Medical Campus 200 attendees
Nov. 7 2005 U. Penn 125 attendees
Nov. 7 2005 Drexel University 125 attendees
Nov. 8 2005 Univ. Rhode Island 20 attendees
Nov. 9 2005 Yale University 125 attendees
Nov. 14 2005 Cornell University 250 attendees
Nov. 15 2005 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 150 attendees
Nov. 17 2005 Princeton University 125 attendees
Dec. 2 2005 U. New Mexico 115 attendees
Jan. 19 2006 Univ. of Washington 350 attendees
Jan. 23 2006 U. California Davis 125 attendees
Jan. 26 2006 U. Calgary 50 attendees
Jan. 27 2006 U. Alberta 150 attendees
Feb. 8 2006 Scripps Research Institute 75 attendees
Feb. 8 2006 U. California San Diego 200 attendees
Feb. 10 2006 Kansas State U. 150 attendees
Feb. 15 2006 U. New Hampshire 100 attendees
Feb. 17 2006 Dartmouth College 300 attendees
Feb. 22 2006 U. Southern California 50 attendees
Feb. 23 2006 UCLA 150 attendees
Feb. 27 2006 Indiana U. 115 attendees
Feb. 28 2006 Purdue U. 330 attendees
Mar. 1 2006 U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign 230 attendees
Mar. 2 2006 Northwestern U. 225 attendees
Mar. 3 2006 U. Chicago 150 attendees
Mar. 6 2006 New Jersey Inst. Of Technology 50 attendees
Mar. 8 2006 Harvard U. 250 attendees
Mar. 8 2006 MIT 130 attendees
Mar. 9 2006 Univ. Mass. Boston 30 attendees
Mar. 14 2006 Boston University 80 attendees
Mar. 15 2006 Brown University 80 attendees
Mar. 16 2006 Clark University 40 attendees
Mar. 20 2006 Michigan Tech 125 attendees
Mar. 21 2006 Mayo Clinic 180 attendees
Mar. 23 2006 University of Iowa 120 attendees
Mar. 24 2006 College of William and Mary 100 attendees
Mar. 27 2006 Texas A&M University 60 attendees
Mar. 28 2006 Univ.Texas-Austin 240 attendees
Mar. 30 2006 Univ. Texas Medical Branch 80 attendees
Apr. 1 2006 University of Georgia 40 attendees
Apr. 3 2006 University of Michigan 275 attendees
Apr. 5 2006 Carnegie Mellon University 325 attendees
Apr. 7 2006 Penn State University 325 attendees

More Testimonials

From event organizers:

"Jorge Cham's talk was just terrific. I loved it and obviously so did our audience here."
-Mary Johnson, Director, Graduate Career Services, Yale University

"We had such a great turnout and I still can't believe how enthusiastic everyone was!"
-Angela Noel-Hvitved, Graduate Student Association, Rice University

"This was such a successful event for us."
-Cara Skeat, Associate Program Director, Georgia Tech Student Center

"We were so happy that we were able to pack the room! It was definitely one of the most successful events we've run!"
-Shin-Yi Lin, Chair, Graduate Student Government, Princeton University

“An excellent talk, people thoroughly enjoyed it. The Q&A session was lots of fun.”
-Sidharth Jaggi, The Caltech Y

"It was an enormous success."
-Sharon Belden, Assistant Director, Office of Career Services, Harvard University

"The crowd was so big at Cornell that they were actually hanging from the rafters... It was one of the few times I think the students really thought we 'got it right'!"
-Victoria A. Blodgett, Director, Graduate Student Life & Career Development, Cornell University

"Penn students loved him! We got lots of positive feedback."
-Julie Vick, Associate Director, Career Services, Univ. of Pennsylvania

"If you have not engaged Jorge on your campuses, do so. An exceptionally well-received program by UCLA students."
-Albert E. Aubin, Senior Associate Director, Counseling Services & Campus Relations, UCLA Career Center

"I enjoyed the talk! Jorge clearly resonated with the students and I was happy to see the great turn out from our students."
-Diane Jelinek, Dean, Mayo Graduate School

From students:

"I can't remember when I have had as many laughs. I am sure many of our colleagues will benefit from your philosophy and shared experience."
-Damian, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

"Your lecture was very insightful and one of the most entertaining I've heard."
-Ayan, University of Maryland

"Your talk has been the topic of conversation for the past couple of days. It was a great talk and very well delivered."
-Gelareh, University of Maryland

"Thanks again for the fun you bring into the labs and lives(!) of grad students."
-Bilal, Johns Hopkins University

"Thank you SO MUCH for signing my books and giving a wonderful talk at Yale. You made my month!"
-Robert, Yale University

"Thanks for helping us to keep a good perspective on grad life."
-Calvin, Princeton University

"You were very funny. I found myself REALLY pleased with what you had to say. I think your talk was more motivational and educational than most of the career seminars that are organized to supposedly keep us on track."
-Geoff, North Carolina State University

"It was so nice to go to your lecture and laugh for an hour about how life is for all of us. It is SO good to know that other people are in the same spot as you. It's something we often forget when we're caught up in papers and the drama of grad school."
-Betty, University of Utah

"You're taller and better looking than I expected!"
-Anna, Carnegie Mellon University