Does President Donald Trump’s administration consider your graduate degree “professional”? If you’re planning to finance it with federal loans, that definition will soon make a big difference in the amount of money you can borrow.
Law, medicine and dentistry are among the degrees classified as “professional” by the Department of Education as the government restructures its federal student loan programs.
Notably missing from the list: nursing. And that omission has led nursing groups to express concern about potential negative impacts to the health care industry and those seeking to advance in the field.
“This will severely restrict access to critical funding for graduate nursing education, undermining efforts to grow and sustain the nursing workforce,” the American Nurses Association said in a statement urging the government to revise its wording to specifically list nursing as a professional degree, which would essentially double the amount of federal loans that nursing graduate students can take out.
[SEE: Best Medical School Loans]
What’s Changing With Federal Student Loans
Concern over nursing’s designation stems from an overhaul in federal student loans that was signed into law in July as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The new law phases out the Grad PLUS loans program, which had enabled graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance to complete their degree. Now, graduate students will face new caps on the amount of federal loans they can take out.
Graduate students pursuing professional degrees will be allowed to borrow up to $50,000 in federal loans for any one academic year and $200,000 over their lifetime. Students enrolling in nonprofessional graduate programs can borrow $20,500 in one year and $100,000 total.
The changes will go into effect on July 1, 2026. Most existing borrowers can continue to finance their degree under previous terms until they complete their program.
By enacting these changes, the Trump administration is seeking to drive down the costs of higher education and prevent students from taking on debt they can’t repay.
“This will benefit borrowers who will no longer be pushed into insurmountable debt to finance degrees that do not pay off,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement.
After the law was signed, a Department of Education committee worked on hammering out the details of the new regulations, including which programs may qualify for higher borrowing limits. The committee’s proposal hasn’t been finalized, and there remains some uncertainty as to whether some degrees will be classified as professional.
The group has been referencing a list of 11 degrees that qualify as professional:
— Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
— Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
— Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.)
— Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
— Law (L.L.B. or J.D.)
— Medicine (M.D.)
— Optometry (O.D.)
— Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
— Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P. or Pod.D.)
— Theology (M.Div. or M.H.L.)
— Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)
[Read: Best Student Loans Without a Cosigner]
Although the list isn’t necessarily exhaustive, it has caught the attention of advocates of various fields that weren’t mentioned.
“Should this proposal be finalized, the impact on our already-challenged nursing workforce would be devastating,” the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a statement.
The Department of Education on Monday responded to the outcry, saying its data shows that 95% of nursing students borrow below the new limits and wouldn’t be affected by the caps. It also noted that a graduate degree isn’t required for most nursing positions.
As of 2022, about 20% of registered nurses in the U.S. held a graduate degree, according to the AACN.
The Department of Education said it “has not prejudged the rulemaking process and may make changes in response to public comments.” It also said that not classifying certain programs as “professional” doesn’t reflect a negative view toward those fields.
“The definition of a ‘professional degree’ is an internal definition used by the Department to distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits, not a value judgement about the importance of programs,” the department said. “It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not.”
Other notable degrees left off the list include architecture, accounting and education.
“Lowering the loan cap will reduce the number of architects who can afford to pursue this professional degree and harm American leadership in this field,” the American Institute of Architects said in a statement.
[Read: Best Parent Student Loans: Parent PLUS and Private.]
More Students May Turn to Private Loans
With the cost of some graduate degrees reaching into the hundreds of thousands, more students are likely to bridge the gap by taking out private student loans, experts say.
In anticipation of that heightened demand, banks and online lenders have already begun rolling out new student loan products. A growing list of lenders also now offer loans designed for nursing students. For example, Sallie Mae, College Ave and Abe all advertise health professional student loans.
Private student loans can have benefits and drawbacks, and experts say it’s generally best to exhaust your federal student loan limits before turning to private loans.
Federal loans have a set interest rate for all graduate students (currently 8.94% for direct PLUS loans), they typically don’t require a credit score to qualify and they generally offer more forgiving repayment plans. However, those with high credit scores and reliable income could end up getting a better rate and more favorable terms from a private lender. Of course, others may not qualify for private loans at all.
The best private student loans have competitive rates, flexible terms and other perks, such as grace periods after graduation or discounts for good grades.
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Trump Administration Says Nursing Isn’t a ‘Professional Degree.’ That May Impact Your Student Loans. originally appeared on usnews.com
