What’s a professional graduate degree? Loan confusion reigns amid legal battle.

WASHINGTON — Students pursuing several advanced degree programs can now access higher loan caps, but the temporary relief has ushered in a wave of uncertainty amid an ongoing legal battle.  

Graduate-level programs such as nursing, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology are, for now, considered “professional” degrees by the U.S. Department of Education after a court order in late June halted the agency’s new “professional” definition while a legal challenge unfolds.

That definition had limited the number of advanced degrees eligible for higher annual and lifetime loan limits to just 11 fields, while excluding several programs, such as nursing.

In response to U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s interim ruling, the department temporarily expanded the list of degrees considered “professional” to 29 fields, per guidance given to institutions. 

Pushback from Trump administration

But the Education Department said it was confident its definition is “lawful” and vowed to keep defending the regulations. 

The agency also stressed in its guidance that the temporary “professional” designations “are provided solely to facilitate implementation of the Court’s order and may change as litigation in the case proceeds.”

A department spokesperson, speaking on background, declined to comment on whether the department would appeal the ruling. 

The department said in its guidance that while the case continues, institutions may wish to consider limiting loan amounts to the graduate-level caps for programs temporarily deemed “professional” in an effort to “mitigate potential disruption to student borrowers resulting from changes in program classification that may arise from the ongoing litigation.” 

The programs on the expanded list from the department include: veterinary medicine; law; divinity/ministry; rabbinical studies; clinical psychology; counseling psychology; school psychology; clinical child psychology; health/medical psychology; family psychology; forensic psychology; clinical, counseling and applied psychology; chiropractic; audiology; speech-language pathology; dentistry; anesthesiologist assistant; physician associate/assistant; athletic training; medicine; osteopathic medicine; podiatry; optometry; pharmacy; occupational therapy; physical therapy; registered nursing; nurse anesthetist; and nursing practice. 

On the flip side, the department identified several programs that may have been considered “professional” prior to the court’s ruling but no longer carry the status while the court order is in place, such as theology, pharmaceutical sciences, environmental psychology, and clinical and industrial drug development. 

Schools ‘not sure what to do’

Denise Morelli, of counsel at Sligo Law Group, a firm made up of former Education Department attorneys, said the department’s late June guidance lacks clarity, especially in spelling out any repercussions for schools and students if the agency prevails in court and can keep its “professional” degree definition.

“I do think that has an impact on schools and students because schools are, kind of, not sure what to do because now … these people in these programs are allowed to have the higher loans, according to the department, but the department’s not saying they can keep them,” said Morelli, a former attorney for the Office of the General Counsel at the department. 

“You could be partway through the program, the department prevails, now the student has to get their loan amount cut, and it could also affect their annual limits, so it puts both students and schools in a very precarious position right now,” she added. 

Student loan system overhaul

The new definition is part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s sweeping overhaul of the federal student loan system stemming from the GOP’s 2025 “big, beautiful” law. Most provisions in the overhaul took effect July 1. 

Part of the regulations axed a program allowing for unlimited borrowing for graduate and professional students and set new caps on federal student loans, with much different limits based on whether a degree is deemed “professional.” 

Now, graduate student loans face a $20,500 annual cap and $100,000 lifetime limit. Professional student loans are subject to a $50,000 yearly limit and $200,000 aggregate cap. 

Lawsuits crop up

The department’s new “professional” degree definition prompted a handful of legal challenges against the administration, including the suit that sparked Howell’s June order. 

That case stems from a pair of combined challenges brought by a total of eight groups representing people in fields outside of the department’s new “professional” definition. 

One of the lawsuits was brought in May by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; the American Association of Colleges of Nursing; the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health; the National Education Association; and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. 

The PA Education Association and the American Academy of Physician Associates filed the other lawsuit in June.