Continuing your education is already a decision that entails financial planning. Now, with the Trump administration’s updated limits on federal student loans for professional and graduate students, there are some new considerations to factor into the equation.
Beginning for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, “graduate and professional students will see new limits of up to $20,500 per year ($100,000 total) for graduate studies and $50,000 a year ($200,000 total) for professional programs,” said CNBC Make It. Further complicating these limits is what types of programs are and are not considered professional — not to mention the elimination of graduate PLUS loans, which used to let students borrow up to the full cost of attendance.
How will the new student loan limits work?
The newly imposed limits apply specifically to unsubsidized student loans for graduate borrowers (as mentioned, PLUS loans will no longer be available to graduate students). The limits vary depending on what category a student pursuing an advanced degree falls into: “‘non-professional’ graduate students, who include those in nursing, engineering and social work, among others,” or “‘professional’ students, like those in medicine and law,” said Investopedia.
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“Non-professional” graduate students can take out up to $20,500 per year, and up to $100,000 in total.
“Professional” students can borrow double this amount, with limits of up to $50,000 per year and up to $200,000 in total.
Which fields are eligible for higher loan limits?
While the loan limits may seem clear-cut enough, the reality of what programs fall into what category is less intuitive. “According to the proposed regulation, a professional degree ‘signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree,’” said CNBC Make It. The Department of Education, however, has explicitly stated that the “term does not determine the importance of a program and ‘has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not,’” said NBC News.
As of November, there are 11 degree fields eligible for the higher “professional” student loan limits, said CNBC Make It:
- Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
- Clinical psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)
- Dentistry doctorate (D.D.S. or D.M.S.)
- Law (L.L.B. or J.D.)
- Medicine (M.D.)
- Clinical psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)
- Pharmacy (Pharm. D.)
- Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.)
- Clinical psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)
- Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.)
- Veterinary medicine (D.V.M.)
Are there any notable exclusions under the new requirements?
One omission from the list of “professional” programs that has drawn attention is nursing. Some have “argued that health care workers, such as nurses, might choose to leave the industry because they lack sufficient funding for their programs,” said Business Insider. Other professions not on the list include “architects, accountants, educators and social workers,” and reportedly “engineering, a business master's, counseling or therapy and speech pathology,” said Newsweek.
However, it is worth noting that the “loan limit regulation is not final.” The Department of Education is poised to “publish the regulation in its current form in the federal register in the coming months, where the public will have the opportunity to give feedback before it becomes final,” said NBC News.
