A doctoral degree is perceived as a milestone in one's expedition of educational advancement; however, studies show that 40% to 60% of doctoral candidates do not possess the persistence to complete their degree. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to explore the factors that contribute towards increasing the persistence level among doctoral students. Semi-structured in-person interviews of eight participants (four male and four female) selected through snowball sampling were conducted in a university setting. Thematic analysis of data identified certain intrinsic motivational factors including career progression, gaining subject command, and the desire to achieve self-actualization. Autonomy, sense of purpose, self-determination, and problem-solving skills were found to be the most effective factors that promote resiliency in the students to help complete their degrees. These research findings would help the faculty and the administrators in designing an efficient recruitment program to select the candidates with a prospective potential. Further, it would help in devising the mentoring and counseling programs to develop the identified traits in the enrolled doctoral candidates to promote their retention in the doctoral program.