Student at university CID understood (5)
I believe the answer is:
lucid
'understood' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'student at university cid' is the wordplay.
'student' becomes 'l' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'university' becomes 'u' (abbreviation for university).
'l'+'u'+'cid'='LUCID'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lucid that I've seen before include "Clear, easily understood" , "Rational, clear" , "Clearly presented and easily understood" , "Cogent" , "Clear, easy to understand" .)