If you’re an aspiring nurse, educator, social worker, or speech pathologist, chances are you’ve heard a lot of chatter about the Trump administration’s plan to reclassify what degrees are considered “professional.” The proposed change has been met with backlash, drawing significant concerns especially from current and future students. But what even is a professional degree, and what does its classification — or lack thereof — mean for college students?
As defined in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, a professional degree is “a degree 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. Professional licensure is also generally required.”
However, the Trump administration’s proposal leaves out many areas of study that have been widely considered to be professional degrees, including nursing, physical therapy, dental hygiene, occupational therapy, social work, architecture, education, and accounting.
This proposed change stems from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which also eliminated the Grad PLUS program and placed limits on Parent PLUS loans. Under the Department of Education’s proposed changes, degree programs classified as professional will have higher caps on what the amount of money graduate students can borrow from the federal government. Those that do not fall into this classification will not be permitted to borrow as much money. More specifically, graduate students pursuing degrees classified as professional will be able to borrow up to $50,000 annually, with a lifetime limit of $200,000. Students pursuing degrees that are not classified as professional will only be able to borrow up to $20,500 with an overall limit of $100,000.
While the Department of Education claims that the classification of a degree as professional or not is “not a value judgement about the importance of programs,” the proposed changes may act as a deterrent to students considering entering vital careers. Nursing and teaching, for example, have experienced shortages nationwide. Additionally, many of the professions left off the list of professional degrees are women-dominated fields, leading many to be concerned about how the future of women in the workforce will be impacted. Further, many professions left off the list also hold positions as mandated reporters, meaning they’re required by law to report suspected or known instances of abuse; many have expressed concern over the number of these mandated reporters — and, therefore, the number of people looking out for abuse victims — dwindling should they not be able to access the funding they need to get their degrees.
Many organizations have come out against the proposed change and are taking action to fight it. “We are disheartened and concerned by the proposed definition and its potential impacts,” the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) said in a statement. “Graduate students in critical healthcare fields could be significantly limited in accessing federal financing, posing potential impacts on social work education, and the supply of practitioners. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) released a statement stating that ASHA “remains committed to securing higher loan limits for audiology and speech-language pathology students and will continue to provide opportunities for ASHA members to take action.” The American Nurses Association of New York (ANA-NY) published a petition collecting signatures to ensure nursing is included in the definition of a professional degree.
The proposed changes are set to take effect on July 1, 2026, meaning students who will be starting degree programs following this date will be subject to the ED’s new guidelines — unless something changes between now and then. For updates on your specific plan, students should look to the ED’s Federal Student Aid website.