Crossword Genius

Pretend that degree is fake, bizarrely (4,2,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

make as if

'pretend' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'degree is fake bizarrely' is the wordplay.
'degree' becomes 'ma' (Master of Arts is a type of degree).
'bizarrely' is an anagram indicator.
'is'+'fake'='isfake'
'isfake' with letters rearranged gives 'keasif'.
'ma'+'keasif'='MAKE AS IF'

'that' is the link.

(Another definition for make as if that I've seen is " Pretend".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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