Follow graduate's doctrine (5)
I believe the answer is:
dogma
'doctrine' is the definition.
(I know that dogma is a type of church doctrine)
'follow graduate's' is the wordplay.
'follow' becomes 'dog' (I've seen this in another clue).
'graduate' becomes 'MA' (abbreviation for Master of Arts).
'dog'+'ma'='DOGMA'
(Other definitions for dogma that I've seen before include "Set of principles laid down as incontrovertibly true" , "Body of religious doctrine" , "Doctrine accepted without question" , "Opinion viewed as truth?" , "Body of creed" .)