From Campus to Classroom: Stories That Shape Education
- The draft rule narrows "professional" degrees to the original 1965 examples, omitting the law’s non-exhaustive clause.
- Only specific programs like Medicine, Law, Dentistry, and Pharmacy are listed as professional.
- Other licensed fields such as nursing, physical therapy, and social work are excluded from the list.
- Professional students could access up to $50,000 annually, while others face a $20,500 cap.
- The proposal removes Grad PLUS flexibility and ties professional status to licensure plus a four-digit CIP code.
The draft regulations list only a narrow group of fields as “professional” programs.
WASHINGTON — A proposed change to federal student loan regulations by the Trump administration has created widespread concern, especially among students in programs like nursing and public health who fear their degrees may no longer be considered professional degrees.
The issue stems from a new Department of Education proposal tied to the administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would significantly change how graduate students can borrow money beginning next July. Nothing has officially passed yet, but the proposal would influence annual loan limits for students.
Students in “professional” degree programs would be able to borrow up to $50,000 in federal loans annually, while students in all other graduate programs would be limited to $20,500 per year.
The proposal would also eliminate Grad PLUS loans, which currently allow graduate and professional students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance. Parent PLUS loans would also be capped under the new provisions.
A 1965 federal law defines a professional degree as one “that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree.”
It provides a list of examples, including medicine, law and dentistry, but clarifies the list is “not limited to” these industries.
However, in the proposed loan regulations, only the original 1965 examples are listed, and there is no clause that says the list is non-exhaustive, as the 1965 law said.
The draft defines a professional degree as one that:
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Provides a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree
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Is general at the doctoral level and requires at least six years of postsecondary coursework
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Requires professional licensure
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Includes a four-digit program CIP code
Fields such as nursing, physical therapy, social work or architecture are not included in the proposal’s list, despite all of which requiring licensure and advanced training.
That has led many educators and professional associations to worry that students in non-listed fields may be forced under the lower $20,500 cap, leaving students with large funding gaps.
What degrees are listed as “professional” in the proposed bill?
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Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
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Medicine (M.D.)
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Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
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Dentistry (D.D.S., D.M.D.)
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Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.)
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Optometry (O.D.)
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Podiatry (D.P.M., Pod.D.)
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Chiropractic Medicine (D.C.)
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Law (J.D., L.L.B.)
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Theology (M.Div., M.H.L.)
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Clinical Psychology (Psy.D., Ph.D.)
What degrees are missing from the “professional” category in the proposed bill?
According to the American Council on Education, some of the fields that still meet the original 1965 definition but are not named in current examples include:
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