The needs of contemporary doctoral scholar-practitionership are placing demands on institutions of higher education to assess the methods by which curriculum and faculty resources are invested in student development. As students continue, often, to remain in practice during doctoral studies, the need to develop and assume an identity as a scholar-leader could not be more timely given the complex, rapidly changing environment. "The Formation of Scholars" sought to provide insight into the changes higher education must face in order enable proficient scholar practitioners. Few academic institutions have accepted every recommendation and sought to use curriculum and resources to produce these individuals. Furthermore, little to no research has been conducted to identify what factors students perceive as influencing their development of a scholar-leader identity and, in the case of this research, how those university investments are being used to perpetuate the goal. Using a qualitative, exploratory design, narrative inquiry was used to record individual stories which influenced their understanding of self while thematic analysis provided a broader picture of lessons to be learned by the intellectual community. Results from participant narratives reveal the importance of individual perspectives of agency, the use of time and space, orientation, motivation, and relationships as individuals negotiate an understanding of self. Outside of their internal journey, participants also reflected on key organizational implications which influenced their development and revealed that while the journey for identity development is largely an inward pursuit, there is a cast of characters and organizational support structures, values, and a culture which influence it. [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.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]