Despite the substantial growth of research on identity construction in real-life contexts, little is known about PhD students' online identities, especially their identity shift from real-life to virtual contexts. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining the identity development of ten PhD students from the field of Applied Linguistics during the COVID-19 pandemic, by adopting narrative inquiry. Data analysis revealed that PhD students' identity was marked by four major components including professional development, sense of self-development, social interactions in community of practice, and their perceptions. The study concludes with implications for both PhD students, administrators and instructors by raising their awareness of the importance of facilitating the change from face-to-face to online contexts.