Camilla Jessen
The U.S. Department of Education has removed nursing from its list of recognized “professional degree” programs.
The U.S. Department of Education has removed nursing from its list of recognized “professional degree” programs as it implements student-loan changes included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” according to Newsweek and Nursing World.
The reclassification affects how federal loan caps are applied and has drawn strong criticism from nurses, workforce researchers and national medical organizations.
Policy change and impact
Federal regulations from 1965 never clearly listed nursing as a professional degree, instead offering examples while stating the category was “not limited to” those mentioned.
Now that the definition determines eligibility for higher borrowing limits under new loan rules, nursing’s omission directly restricts access to graduate-level financial aid.
The policy arrives as the Grad PLUS program is being eliminated and Parent PLUS loans capped.
These changes are part of a new Repayment Assistance Plan that limits annual graduate borrowing to $20,500 and sets a $50,000 cap for students in fields still deemed “professional.”
The department has assigned that status only to medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology and clinical psychology—excluding nursing, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists and audiologists.
The American Nurses Association notes that more than 260,000 students are currently enrolled in BSN programs and 42,000 in ADN programs.
Nursing leaders warn the decision will deter students from pursuing advanced qualifications and deepen the national staffing crisis.
Criticism from the field
A New Jersey ER nurse told Newsweek via TikTok that after “10 years of schooling… $210k in student loan debt… 15 years of ER and Trauma experience,” her degree is suddenly not considered professional.
She warned the U.S. will be “short by a million other nurses” under the new limits.
Olga Yakusheva of Johns Hopkins University said caps will make it harder for nurses to pursue master’s, DNP and Ph.D. degrees—credentials essential for leadership, prescribing authority, research careers and faculty positions.
She warned this will reduce nursing-school capacity and shrink the domestic workforce.
Patricia Pittman of George Washington University called the decision “a gut punch,” saying it undermines retention efforts, especially in rural areas.
ANA president Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said limiting graduate-education funding “threatens the very foundation of patient care.”
Antonia Villarruel of the University of Pennsylvania added that excluding nursing is “a serious blow to the health of our nation.”
Sources: Newsweek, The Washington Post, Nursing World, American Nurses Association
