"Earlier this month, the Department of Education reached a consensus on how to implement the Big Beautiful Bill's student loan-related edict: "to place commonsense limits and guardrails on future student loan borrowing," according to a press release from the agency. The bill was signed into law by President Donald Trump this July, setting new lifetime borrowing caps of $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students. This month's committee finally established what degrees count as "professional," and notably, no nursing degrees made the cut."
"The new rules for student loan borrowing take effect July 1, 2026. From that day forward, a person's education will fall into one of two categories: a graduate school program, or a professional school program. Graduate school attendees can borrow up to $20,500 per year, or up to $100,000 in total; professional school students can borrow up to $50,000 per year, or $200,000 in total."
The Department of Education finalized rules implementing lifetime federal loan limits that categorize postbaccalaureate education as either graduate or professional programs, effective July 1, 2026. Graduate students face annual borrowing limits of $20,500 and a $100,000 lifetime cap; professional students face annual limits of $50,000 and a $200,000 lifetime cap. Professional degrees must be doctoral level, require six years of higher education with at least two post-baccalaureate years, and require professional licensure. Eleven programs were designated professional, including medicine, law, dentistry, and pharmacy; nursing degrees were excluded, provoking concern amid an ongoing national nurse shortage.
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