A new proposal from the Trump administration would leave nursing off the list of recognized professional degrees, alarming nursing advocates who say the move could intensify the nation’s nurse shortage by limiting how much students can borrow for their education.
The change is tied to Republicans’ “one big, beautiful bill” act, which created new federal borrowing caps for higher education. Beginning July 1, 2026, students enrolled in approved professional degree programs would be able to borrow up to $50,000 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $200,000.
Graduate students whose programs are not categorized as professional would face a much lower ceiling: an annual cap of $20,500 and a lifetime limit of $100,000.
Nursing leaders say they are stunned by how the proposed rule defines a professional degree. The list includes certain medical fields — such as pharmacy, dentistry and medicine — but excludes nursing. They warn that limiting access to loans for nursing students could deter people from entering or advancing in the field at a time when many hospitals and clinics are already struggling to recruit nurses.
The proposal would create “obstacles for students who want to pursue advanced degrees, which would most likely lead to decreased students pursuing degrees in nursing,” Kim Litwack, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Nursing, told CBS News. “That means there will be less of these professionals joining the workforce.”
In a statement issued earlier this month, the Education Department said the plan introduces a new definition of a professional student to determine who qualifies for the higher loan limits.
The aim of the policy, including the tighter borrowing caps, is to prevent borrowers from taking on what Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent described as “insurmountable debt to finance degrees that do not pay off.”
In an email to CBS News, the Education Department added that 95% of nursing students are not expected to be affected by the new borrowing limits.
“For the most expensive outlying 5%, enrolled students are grandfathered into current lending limits to ensure there are no barriers to completion,” said Ellen Keast, the agency’s press secretary for higher education. “We expect that institutions charging tuition rates well above market prices will consider lowering tuition thanks to these historic reforms.”
How the rule defines a professional degree
Under the proposal, a professional degree is 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.”
The department also noted in a fact sheet that the definition is meant to distinguish which programs qualify for the higher loan limits, and is “not a value judgement about the importance of programs.”
The professions explicitly listed as qualifying include pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology. Students in graduate programs that are not deemed professional — such as nursing, physical therapy and physician assistant studies — would be subject to the lower loan caps.
Other excluded fields have also voiced opposition. The Council on Social Work Education said it was “disheartened and concerned” by the proposal. The American Academy of Audiology highlighted that audiology is missing from the list as well, warning that it could discourage students from pursuing careers in that specialty.
Leaving nursing off the professional-degree list “makes no sense,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association.
Grad PLUS elimination adds to concern
The “big, beautiful bill” law also eliminates the Grad PLUS program, which currently allows graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of their degree. For nursing advocates, the combination of the new caps and the loss of Grad PLUS heightens the risk that aspiring advanced-practice nurses will be priced out of graduate programs.
Kennedy and other nursing advocates who oppose the exclusion say they are cautiously optimistic that the draft rule could change before it is finalized.
“It feels like a miscommunication, and we hope the Department of Education changes the proposed language before the rule comes out for public comment. They did add professions to the list before it was released, so they could have added nurses, which clearly belong,” she said.
The Education Department has said the proposal will be published in the Federal Register, where it will be opened for public comment, though it has not provided a date.
“A real gut punch” for the profession
For many in the field, the financial implications translate directly into workforce concerns. Olga Yakusheva, an economist and professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, warned that stricter loan limits could shrink the pipeline of nurses pursuing graduate degrees.
“It’s going to limit the ability of nurses to apply for graduate school, and on the back end, it will limit the number of nurses available in primary care settings and in hospitals,” she said. “Communities with shortages of physicians will feel this the most.”
Patricia Pittman, a professor of health policy and management at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, noted that advanced-practice nurses are often the backbone of care in rural areas. If borrowing limits make graduate training less accessible, she said, fewer nurses may pursue advanced licensure — leaving those communities even more vulnerable.
“Basically, nobody would be there if it weren’t for these nurse practitioners,” she told CBS News.
Pittman added that the symbolic impact of the proposal is also significant.
“It’s a real gut punch, and the result is that nurses are going to be angry about this,” she said.Thinking
