It is challenging to transition from a Master’s level of education to a PhD level, more so when students complete their PhD education in an unfamiliar academic and societal environment. PhD education undertaken internationally can, at the same time, provide tremendous learning opportunities. Accordingly, acculturation to the doctoral journey seems to be important for successful doctoral research. Due to the focus of the adopted theories, previous scholars have concentrated either on the cognitive, psychological, or social aspects of academic acculturation. In addition, the focus on more narrow ways of development or adjustment has not adequately captured the process of academic acculturation. This study adopts Illeris's Comprehensive Learning Theory (CLT) to shed light on academic acculturation. It aims to integrate the cognitive, emotional and interaction aspects of academic acculturation to explore the possible processes by which Chinese PhD students are acculturated to their doctoral journeys in New Zealand. The research was guided by the overarching research question: How do international Chinese PhD students learn to acculturate academically in a New Zealand university? Given its exploratory nature, this study embraced a qualitative research paradigm. To gain in-depth insight into academic acculturation, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with Chinese PhD students enrolled at a New Zealand university. The interviews employed critical incident techniques and were supported by follow-up interviews. In total, eleven students took part in the semi-structured interviews. Each participant was encouraged to share their memorable doctoral experiences and to elaborate on their understanding and emotions of doctoral experiences. Through thematic analysis, this study identified forms of learning content, incentives and social interactions that were embedded in the process of academic acculturation. Besides the research itself, Chinese PhD students encountered various contents to learn in order to guarantee the success of their doctoral journey. These students demonstrated diverse motivations, which served as incentives for their pursuit of a doctoral degree. To ensure success, Chinese PhD students also engaged in interactions, including observations, learning initiatives, and interactions with various people. Furthermore, Chinese PhD students demonstrated four processes to academic acculturation: assimilation, multiple identities construction, accommodation and transformation. Yet, their previous educational experiences could potentially lead to misunderstandings and defence against acculturating to their doctoral journey. Combined, the findings underscored the intricacies of an academic acculturation process, which need to be investigated through content, incentive and interaction dimensions as a comprehensive whole. Four academic acculturation processes underscored the situational nature of the acculturation process, influenced by both Chinese students' prior educational backgrounds and their specific doctoral journeys. This strengthens the notion that individuals could experience different academic acculturation pathways, and any single process (such as knowledge acquisition, transformation or adjustments) is inadequate to encompass the entirety of potential acculturation processes. This study contributes a holistic perspective that helps doctoral supervisors and administrators provide relevant support to international Chinese doctoral students, as well as other international students. The research encourages Chinese PhD students to enrich their research skills and experiences before their doctoral journey. The students should also be aware that the doctoral journey in all likelihood will not take place as they expected, as their pre-established experiences might not guarantee a smooth doctoral journey and even cause challenges. Yet, challenges also contain great opportunities for enhancing knowledge, academic capacities, adaptability and even personal growth. This study also suggests that the process of academic acculturation can be enhanced through observations and active participation in diverse activities, as well as engage during interactions with a variety of individuals. These interactions collectively contribute to enriching students' knowledge and facilitating necessary adjustments for successful acculturation to the new academic environment.