Examine some graduate students (4)
I believe the answer is:
test
'examine' is the definition.
(I know that examine can be written as test)
'some graduate students' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'TEST' can be found hidden inside 'graduate students'.
(Other definitions for test that I've seen before include "criterion" , "Experiment" , "Dip one's toe in" , "Audition" , "Try, examine critically" .)