Cracked art code, to a degree (9)
I believe the answer is:
doctorate
'a degree' is the definition.
(I know that doctorate is a degree)
'cracked art code to' is the wordplay.
'cracked' is an anagram indicator.
'art'+'code'+'to'='artcodeto'
'artcodeto' with letters rearranged gives 'DOCTORATE'.
(Other definitions for doctorate that I've seen before include "Highest academic degree" , "Highest degree in university" , "Academic qualification" , "High degree" , "Higher degree" .)