Appear comparatively stupid, without degree in mind (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
look after
'mind' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'appear comparatively stupid' is the wordplay.
'appear' becomes 'look' ('look' can be a synonym of 'appear').
'comparatively stupid' becomes 'after' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'look'+'after'='LOOK AFTER'
'without degree in' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for look after that I've seen before include "Peer trying to find" , "Watch over" , "nurse" , "Take care of" , "Tend" .)