This study addresses the issue of international education through a human development lens. Using a group of Chinese doctoral students in Australia as a case study, it adopts volunteer-employed photography (VEP) to tease out the negative and positive forces that influence students' developmental trajectories during their doctoral education. Analyzing within the framework of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory, this study reveals that these forces, which transcend the academic sphere, exert varying influences via interactions between individuals and their environment. International doctoral study follows a developmental trajectory that is co-shaped by personal characteristics and the multilayered bioecological system that individuals negotiate and manage day-to-day. This article concludes with practical suggestions for stakeholders involved in this trajectory regarding the optimization of doctoral education.