Usually when the phrase "higher education" is used in an entertainment context, it's as a euphemism for some dudes being in college and getting high all the time. But, surprise! PhD Comics is a real, actual comic about graduate school. The series, by Jorge Cham, is here to let you know that if you're considering going for a doctorate, you're probably making a really bad decision. Watch as he loses sleep, abandons anything like a social life, and lives in constant misery, just to be called "Doctor" some day. There's gotta be an easier way to get laid.

An increasing amount of the world's capacity for production is spent on massively multiplayer online role playing games. In fact, Blizzard's World of Warcraft has a larger economy than Antarctica and the Moon combined. All of this is to say that there's more people playing MMOs these days than just malcontents and weirdos. Although, yeah, it's mostly malcontents and weirdos. But the growing diversity of the weirdos in the MMO world is beautifully reflected in The Guild, the classic web series starring and written by Felicia Day. If you have even a shred of nerd in you, you are obligated to watch this, and will be held accountable if you don't.

Looking for a web comic with vaguely metaphysical overtones that's actually about a bunch of cutely drawn characters and their amoral debauchery? That's kind of a weird thing to be looking for, really, oddly specific, but I guess it's your lucky day because here's Sinfest. Following the adventure of a kid, his weird friends and acquaintances, and various deities from a range of religions, Sinfest is a web comic that features religious elements yet brazenly rejects the tenants of every religion ever conceived (even Scientology, probably). You'll probably go to Hell if you read it, which is the strongest endorsement I can give to anything.

When you think of "brainy + cute", there's two things that come to mind: Velma from Scooby Doo, and About.com Web Humor Guide Lukas Kaiser. But to that roster you should add Sanjay Kulkarni's web comic Cowbirds in Love. The breezily sketched comic specializes in taking a deep thought or obscure principle from philosophy or psychology and then spinning it into a neat little bundle of charm that will make you smile. For full effect, read it in a puffy yellow turtleneck sweater.