[1] After the war, Mingay worked for the Kent Education Department and studied part-time at Chatham Technical College.
In 1949, he entered the University of Nottingham and was regarded by Professor J. D. Chambers as a hard-working and talented student.
Chambers, who became Mingay's mentor, encouraged him to study agrarian history and his BA dissertation was an examination of the estates of the Duke of Kingston.
He was awarded a BA first class degree in 1952 and the external examiner, H. J. Habakkuk, said Mingay's dissertation could have earned him a B.Litt.
[1] Mingay was awarded a teaching certificate with distinction and taught at Bolton School during 1952–53 and at Woolwich Polytechnic from 1953 until 1957.