This paper draws on Bourdieu's concepts of "field," "capital" and "habitus" to examine the learning and enculturation of alumni of a Canadian PhD programme in the discipline of Education. We introduce the concept of "doctoral capital" to help explain how and why some PhD graduates go on to secure faculty positions and others do not. Our research suggests that certain existing and acquired academic practices, attributes, dispositions and behaviours collectively form a type of doctoral capital that alumni can then use in the academic marketplace.