The process of persisting successfully in completing an online Ph.D. program for adult learners was the focus of this qualitative research study. There is a significant gap in the literature about the process involved for adult learners pursuing their Ph.D. online. Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach was used to explore the experiences of the 14 recruited participants and their process of becoming Ph.D. graduates by completing the four stages of the online Ph.D. program. Therefore, answering the following research question: What is the process of persisting successfully in completing an online Ph.D. program for adult learners? Furthermore, exploring the 'process' is the heart of the methodological approach of Charmaz's (CGT) approach, which also consists of forming an emergent theory based on the information garnered from the research participants. The 14 adult graduates were a sample of the larger population of adult learners who have completed an online Ph.D. program. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit the participants who met the inclusion criteria of having graduated from an online Ph.D. program within the last ten years and completed all the phases of the doctoral journey based on the university's graduation criteria. In addition, the 14 participants graduated from online Ph.D. programs from two universities in the United States, eight graduates from "ABC University" and six from "XYZ University." Semi-structured guided interviews were conducted for each participant over the Zoom video conferencing platform. Rich data revealed 1511 initial codes that produced 21 focused codes, five axial codes, and five theoretical codes relevant to the novel grounded theory. The following five theoretical codes emerged from the data: (1) Persisting successfully in an online Ph.D. program, (2) Learning through academic advancement, (3) Managing myself and my time with coping strategies, (4) Growing personally by overcoming obstacles, and (5) Emerging as a professional. The novel theory developed from the coding process of the information gathered from the research participants is called "The Theory of Transformative Movement," this emergent theory explains the process of persisting successfully in completing an online Ph.D. program for adult learners. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]