PhD = Piled Higher and Deeper

For most folks, PhD means "Doctor of Philosophy". But, for Jorge Cham, it means "Piled Higher and Deeper". Can you explain to me the title of that comic book?

Solution 1:

There's an old joke based on the common sequence of Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy:

BS: Bull Shit

MS: More of Same

PHD: Piled Higher and Deeper

Solution 2:

"PhD" is an abbreviation. The title of the book is playing around with this abbreviation. Although normally understood as you said to stand for Phillsophiae Doctor, the letters do not actually state this.

It's for example, BMW, usually understood to mean Bavarian Motor Works , but it doesn't actually state "Very Important Person". Anyone could come along, and then play around with the letters and make it "Big Mouth Woman", or "Bouncing With Me."

It's a kind of pun

Solution 3:

In order to receive a PhD, a student must write a dissertation -a lengthy research paper on a topic aligned with their field of study. The dissertation itself is intended to contribute to the general knowledge in that field, and is judged by a panel of other higher academics to determine if the candidate deserves to be awarded their doctorate.

It's a frequent joke among some academics, however, that one can attain their PhD by simply pandering to the review board - i.e., by filling the paper with "bullshit" that has no real scholarly value but that indirectly flatters and influences the reviewers, frequently by focusing on the reviewer's papers. Since the dissertation must be quite lengthy, the bullshit thus has to be "piled higher and deeper".