The road to a new degree program is rarely smooth. The author describes the lengthy and bumpy path to the successful creation of and approval for the first nontraditional doctorate offered at Georgetown University, the Doctor of Liberal Studies Degree (DLS). The new Doctor in Liberal Studies (DLS) required applicants to have a master's degree or other advanced graduate degree (for example, JD, PhD) from an accredited institution. The DLS would encompass thirty-six hours of course work including four required liberal studies foundational courses created for the program, appropriate graduate liberal studies courses and/or departmental courses, and/or directed reading/research courses determined by the needs of the research question proposed by each student. Nine hours of transfer credit or advanced standing would be available on a case-by-case basis to be counted toward the thirty-six credits needed. Advancement to doctoral candidacy would require the successful completion of comprehensive exams as well as the successful completion of a dissertation and its defense.