Country copper with a degree (4)
I believe the answer is:
cuba
'country' is the definition.
(I know that Cuba is a country)
'copper with a degree' is the wordplay.
'copper' becomes 'Cu' (Cu is the chemical symbol for copper).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a degree' becomes 'ba' (Bachelor of Arts).
'cu'+'ba'='CUBA'
(Other definitions for cuba that I've seen before include "Caribbean nation" , "Guantanamo Bay island" , "Castro's republic" , "Largest West Indies island" , "tropical country" .)