Summary:
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The Trump administration reclassifies nursing, physical therapy, and public health as “graduate” degrees, limiting federal borrowing to $20,500 annually.
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Exclusion from the “professional” tier under new student-loan rules may result in a future healthcare worker shortage.
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Financial aid experts warn of higher interest rates and fewer protections with private loans for graduate students.
The Trump administration just made a move that’s already sparking backlash across the healthcare world. Nursing, physical therapy, and public-health graduate programs will no longer count as “professional” degrees under the administration’s new federal student-loan rules. That change cuts annual federal borrowing from $50,000 to $20,500 for students in those fields.
The Donald Trump administration has excluded nursing, physical therapy, and public health as “professional” degrees under new federal student-loan rules.
These fields will now be considered “graduate” programs, and loans will be limited to $20,500 a year, compared to… pic.twitter.com/IxfELaY5jL
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 25, 2025
The shift comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the sweeping higher-ed overhaul that redefines which degrees qualify for the higher “professional” loan tier. Under the new definition, only a narrow list of programs will get the expanded borrowing cap. Nursing, public health, physical therapy and several other health-sector degrees didn’t make the list.
Healthcare groups say the timing couldn’t be worse. The country is already battling long-running shortages of nurses and rehab specialists, and advanced degrees are often required to move into leadership or clinical-practice roles. A representative from a national nursing organization told AP the decision “creates one more barrier to entering a field that already struggles to recruit,” warning that fewer students will be able to afford the required training.
This will lead to a nursing shortage, schools already too expensive as is. How exactly does a nursing shortage “make america healthy again”? What exactly is so great about a country that devalues its healthcare workers? BTW private student loans are more predatory 😒
— heehoo 🦇🍉 (@youkaymelis) November 25, 2025
The administration, meanwhile, is downplaying the fallout. In public statements, the Department of Education says most current nursing students borrow below the cap anyway and won’t feel the change. But future students entering graduate-level programs after July 2026 will be locked into the lower borrowing limit—and may need private loans to cover the gap.
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Financial-aid experts point out that private loans usually mean higher interest rates and fewer protections, placing a heavier burden on students entering lower-paid fields early in their careers.
Professional associations are already mobilizing for the public comment period when the regulation formally opens next year. Nursing advocates, in particular, argue that clinical master’s and doctorate-level programs share the same rigor and workforce stakes as the programs that did qualify—and they want them restored to the “professional” category before the rule takes effect.
For now, nothing changes for students already enrolled. But for the next generation of nurses, therapists and public-health specialists, the path to those careers just got more expensive at a moment when the country needs them most.
