Students in certain programs may soon receive less financial support for their studies, as the Department of Education begins implementing provisions from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
A key change is that only students enrolled in degrees classified as “professional” will qualify for the higher annual borrowing limits under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Degrees that don’t make that cut will be treated as non-professional, even if they are costly and lead to licensure and direct practice.
Notably, several widely recognized professional pathways—including nursing—are not on the new list. That omission has alarmed nurses, higher-education experts and professional organizations, who warn it could worsen shortages in critical fields.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Education via email outside of regular hours for comment.
Why It Matters
College has become dramatically more expensive. Over the last three decades, average tuition at both public and private institutions has roughly doubled after adjusting for inflation, according to NPR. In the past ten years alone, in-state tuition at public universities has risen about 30 percent, the University Herald reports, and some schools implemented additional increases of around 4 percent for the current academic year.
Students in high-cost programs that are no longer recognized as “professional” may face a significant funding gap. With access to lower loan limits, many could struggle to cover tuition and fees—potentially discouraging them from entering fields that are already in high demand, such as nursing and teaching.
What To Know
Under One Big Beautiful Bill, the Repayment Assistance Plan will replace existing graduate and professional loan programs.
- The Grad PLUS program, which previously helped graduate and professional students fill funding gaps, will be eliminated.
- Parent PLUS loans, used by parents of dependent undergraduates, will be curtailed.
- The redesigned RAP will cap annual borrowing for new borrowers at:
- $20,500 for graduate students
- $50,000 for professional students
As a result, whether a degree is labeled “professional” now directly determines how much students in that program can borrow.
An older regulatory definition of a professional degree (34 CFR 668.2), dating back to 1965, lists certain occupations but specifies that the category is “not limited to” those examples. That leaves uncertainty about whether some degrees historically treated as professional are now being reclassified—or whether they were never officially recognized as such.
According to Inside Higher Ed, the administration’s current list of professional degrees omits several health-care and other long-established professional tracks, including:
- Nursing
- Physician assistants
- Physical therapists
- Audiologists
The outlet also notes that other fields pushed for inclusion—such as architecture, accounting, education and social work—have likewise been excluded, despite being high-need sectors. Reports indicate that engineering, business master’s programs, counseling or therapy, and speech pathology will also not be considered “professional” under the new framework.
Critics argue that this approach prioritizes programs associated with higher salaries and greater prestige, while sidelining essential but lower-paid professions.
List of Degrees Not Classed as “Professional” Under the New Rules
As reported so far, the following fields are among those not treated as professional degrees for higher loan limits:
- Nursing
- Physician assistants
- Physical therapists
- Audiologists
- Architects
- Accountants
- Educators
- Social workers
Observers warn this could make it harder for students in these disciplines to finance their education, particularly in health care, where the U.S. already faces workforce shortages.
What Happens Next
The new loan rules and degree classifications are scheduled to take effect in July 2026.
Between now and then, professional associations, universities and advocacy groups are expected to continue pressing the Department of Education to revisit which degrees are considered “professional”—especially in fields like nursing and teaching, where the country already faces serious workforce shortages.
