The contexts of fatherhood in the 21[superscript st] -century are leading to meaningful changes in responsibilities for fathers. These changes are welcomed by many and benefit the family unit in many ways. However, nontraditional doctoral student fathers pursuing a doctorate and maintaining full-time employment face numerous challenges as they seek a work-life balance. Due to the lack of research on this subset of doctoral students, this research fills in the gap and lends a voice to fathers navigating the doctoral journey. Through this qualitative, hermeneutic phenomenological study of eight nontraditional doctoral student fathers, this paper aims to provide more insight into this population's lived experiences. Role strain theory, identity theory, and doctoral student socialization theory were used to examine the participants' experiences. Through thematic analysis, three major themes were developed: (1) Balancing Multiple Roles; (2) Fatherhood Identity and Roles; (3) Support and Well-being. Implications of the study are discussed for future online doctoral student fathers, faculty, academic program administrators, and their families, and how they may aid this group of students in completing their doctoral degree. [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://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]