Here is what students and borrowers need to know about the U.S. Department of Education’s new proposed definition of professional degrees and what YOU could do to push back.

Did chatter about the Trump Administration’s proposal to no longer classify nursing as a professional degree come up at your Thanksgiving dinner table last week? If so, you are certainly not alone.

The controversial move went viral over the holiday—taking social media and traditional news outlets by storm—so much so that even Secretary McMahon went on X to claim it was ‘fake news’ and defend the U.S. Department of Education’s proposal. So, where did this story come from? Is it really “fake news,” and can anything be done to push the Trump Administration to change course? Let’s dig in.

Where did this story come from?

The controversial proposal stems from the harmful student loan cuts included in Congressional Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed by President Trump over the summer. The new law limits how much graduate students can take on in federal student loans after July 1, 2026, based on whether the degree program is categorized as a graduate or professional program.

Under these new caps, students pursuing a graduate degree can borrow only half of what students pursuing a professional degree can. Specifically, students earning a professional degree will be able to borrow $50,000 annually, or $200,000 total, while students pursuing a graduate degree will be able to borrow $20,500 annually or $100,000 total. The new law also requires institutions, starting in 2026, to prorate annual loan amounts for part-time students, meaning those attending graduate programs below full-time will have even less support to cover many of the basic necessities that make up the cost of attendance. Considering nearly half (43 percent) of all graduate students attend school part-time, usually while working, this further limits the amount of federal loans they can actually receive. Making matters even worse, for new students after July 1, 2026, the bill also eliminates access to Graduate PLUS loans—which was the sole program dedicated to helping graduate and professional students finance the whole cost of attendance for their education.

As Congress deliberated the bill, we sounded the alarm on how these new lending limits will make paying for college more expensive and risky and could ultimately push higher education out of reach for more students and families. 

Over the last few months, the Trump Administration convened a negotiated rulemaking panel of higher education stakeholders to begin implementing the new law’s sweeping changes, including the new lending limits. The panel ultimately “reached consensus” on which professional degree programs will be eligible for the higher lending amounts based on the definition of a professional degree established in federal regulations, which includes several examples of degree programs including 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.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.). While current regulations include this list as examples of professional degrees, the panel would limit the definition of professional degree to just the degrees on the list.

Several negotiators pushed back on this narrow list, raising concerns about how students pursuing work in nursing, social work, and education could be left in the lurch. Despite these concerns, the Department decided to only add clinical psychology to their updated proposal as well as certain doctoral degree programs—ultimately subjecting graduate degree nursing programs, like those required to be nurse practitioners (NP) or certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA), and other programs like social work to lower lending caps.

Is this really ‘fake news’?

No. 

While the Trump Administration has said the professional degree designation is “not a value judgment” on whether a program is professional or not, the new lending limits will make it harder for students pursuing advanced degrees in fields like nursing, social work, and education to pay for their degrees. These fields are critically important and policymakers should be making it easier and more affordable for students to advance in these essential fields, not putting up barriers.

Instead, the new lending limits in the One Big Beautiful Bill will reduce access to graduate level education—a pathway to career mobility and advancement—particularly for students seeking to enter or progress in these high-need occupations. Undermining the healthcare workforce compromises the health and stability of communities at a time when we should strengthen the public institutions our communities rely on.

Considering the Administration’s recent attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, it should come as no surprise that many of these degrees are also women-and-minority dominated fields in particular. Women account for 88 percent of nurse practitioners, 84 percent of students in Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs,¹ 70 percent of community and social service workers, and between 61 to 97 percent of preschool through high school teachers, while people of color account for 56 percent of workers in healthcare support occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These occupations often require a master’s or other graduate degree depending on state licensing requirements. Black women, in particular, typically require a master’s degree to earn more than a white man with just an associate’s degree. Without ample access to federal loan assistance, many women and students of color will be forced into the private loan market, where many will not qualify for financing. Students of color and those from lower-income families will disproportionately struggle to get private loans, due to ongoing credit and income disparities. As a result, we could see many students abandon their dreams of pursuing these fields altogether.

So, what can YOU do to push the Department to reverse course?

The good news is that the proposal is not final yet.

In early 2026, the Department will be releasing its proposal for what is known as a public comment period in the Federal Register. The public generally gets 30-60 days to weigh in and provide feedback. This is an opportunity to state your opposition to the Department’s narrow list of programs included in the definition of a professional degree and urge them to broaden this list to include programs like nursing, social work, education, and others that play critical roles in our communities and the economy. If the Department receives a groundswell of opposition to its narrow list of programs eligible for the higher lending limits, they could be pushed to reverse course. We will make sure to keep you updated on next steps! Make sure to check back next year for updates and links on how to make your voice heard!

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Aissa Canchola Bañez is the Policy Director at Protect Borrowers. Previously, Aissa led outreach and engagement efforts for the Office for Students and Young Consumers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and served in senior policy roles in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

Randi Weingarten is president of the AFT, a 1.8-million-member union representing educators, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, healthcare professionals, and public employees. The AFT is the fastest-growing healthcare union with over 250,000 healthcare members and is dedicated to the belief that every person in America deserves the freedom to thrive, fueled by opportunity, justice and a voice in our democracy.

Puneet Maharaj is the Executive Director at National Nurses United. Puneet also serves as the executive director of National Nurses United’s largest affiliate, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC). National Nurses United is the largest U.S. union and professional association of registered nurses with more than 225,000 members.

1. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of Graduate Students, 2020, via National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Datalab (retrieval code: gdcowv). ↩︎