The Trump administration’s proposal to redefine a professional degree could push nursing programmes out of that category, limiting student access to federal loans and sparking outrage among national health-care organisations.
The shift has left many nursing students worried about how they will finance their postgraduate studies.
In the past, graduate students could borrow federal funds up to the full cost of their education. Under the new rules, however, loan amounts will depend on whether a student’s course is classified as a professional programme.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the changes are part of President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill,” as the agency noted in a Nov. 6 release. Under the new terms, graduate students would be limited to borrowing $20,500 annually, with a lifetime borrowing cap of $100,000.
Professional programs, on the other hand, fall under a higher borrowing category, allowing up to $50,000 per year and a maximum of $200,000 overall. Degrees listed in this group include pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology.
Undergraduates will not see any change to their borrowing limits.
The American Nurses Association immediately raised concerns, warning that excluding nursing programs will “severely restrict access to critical funding” for students pursuing advanced training.
The Education Department explained that its use of the term “professional degree” is meant only to establish eligibility for loan limits. The department emphasised that the terminology “has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not.”
Despite this clarification, the revised limits could make it more difficult for many students to pursue advanced degrees.
“The fact that they are lessening the student loans that you can take out may affect me. It’s frustrating,” said Naimah Brandy, 23.
Brandy, who grew up fascinated by emergency room dramas, is working toward a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Chamberlain University and plans to seek her nurse practitioner license after completing her first degree in 2027.
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She worries the borrowing cap will affect her path to graduate school, though she remains determined. “It kind of just makes me want to, you know, push a little harder,” she said.
Another student said he anticipated being affected by the limits but has been preparing financially in advance. “I’ve been working almost 70 hours a week for the past two years,” he said. “Of course, I’m going to have to take whatever federal allotment will be given, and then outside of that, I will be relying on private loans. But that is the reality that I’m faced with. I don’t want to give up on this dream.”
Why the change?
Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent argued that the adjustments aim to pressure institutions to reduce tuition so students do not incur “insurmountable debt to finance degrees.”
Not everyone agrees. Antonia Villarruel, dean of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, countered that training advanced practitioners is inherently expensive. “This is not going to decrease the cost. It’s an expensive program to train practitioners. The simulated experiences that they have… and that all costs,” she said. “We are already looking for efficiencies in what we teach … without compromising quality.”
Impact on the nursing profession
Education Department data suggests that most nursing students — 95% — typically borrow below the $20,500 annual cap. But a July report by the National Centre for Education Statistics shows that graduate nursing programs cost an average of more than $30,000 per year.
The American Nurses Association noted that advanced practice nurses — including nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and nurse anaesthetists — will feel the greatest impact due to their longer and more specialised training requirements.
These roles involve responsibilities such as diagnosing patients and prescribing treatments, tasks that go beyond the scope of registered nurses.
Michael Relf, dean of Duke University’s School of Nursing, warned that the proposed cap could dissuade people from entering advanced practice programs. “If individuals can’t qualify for federal loans, we could predict that a few years down the road, there will be fewer graduates… which will only add further provider shortage and ultimately delay access to care,” he said.
Since the announcement, more than 200,000 nurses and patients have signed a petition from the American Nurses Association urging the Education Department to revise the definition of a professional degree to include advanced nursing programs.
The department said the public will have an opportunity to provide input before the proposal becomes final.
By Joseph Mambili
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