Leave university, hurt, and paint (7)
I believe the answer is:
gouache
'paint' is the definition.
(gouache is a kind of paint)
'leave university hurt' is the wordplay.
'leave' becomes 'go'.
'university' becomes 'u'.
'hurt' becomes 'ache' ('ache' can be a synonym of 'hurt').
'go'+'u'+'ache'='GOUACHE'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for gouache that I've seen before include "Painting technique also called body colour" , "Paint medium" , "Watercolour painting with opaque colours" , "Painting style or technique" , "work" .)