Nursing Professional Degree Exclusion Impacts Student Loans, Alarms Healthcare Leaders
- Nov 21
- 2 min read
The future of advanced nursing education in the U.S. faces significant financial headwinds following a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). As part of implementing President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), the DOE has officially excluded nursing from its revamped definition of a “professional degree” program.
This reclassification applies to graduate programs, meaning that becoming an advanced practice nurse has become both harder and more expensive. The exclusion means graduate nursing students will lose access to higher federal loan limits previously reserved for professional degree programs and will be excluded from certain loan forgiveness programs.
Under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) created by the OBBA, only students pursuing a "professional" degree can borrow up to $50,000 annually, with a lifetime cap of $200,000. Programs categorized as professional include medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, and clinical psychology.
Notably excluded from this list are nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physical therapists. Instead, graduate nursing students will be subject to the general graduate student limits, which are capped at $20,500 annually and impose a lifetime borrowing limit of $100,000. Furthermore, the law is scheduled to end Grad PLUS loans, a program many students rely on to cover costs not covered by other aid, starting July 1, 2026. This shift creates significant financial obstacles, especially for those from underrepresented or economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The cost of nursing education is already substantial, with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) tuition starting around $12,000 and potentially exceeding $100,000. Currently, there are more than 260,000 students enrolled in entry-level Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs.
Leading nursing organizations are raising alarms, arguing that the exclusion threatens patient care and could exacerbate the current critical nurse shortage. Organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) maintain that nursing meets all criteria for a professional discipline, requiring rigorous education and licensure.
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, President of the ANA, stated that limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education “threatens the very foundation of patient care” at a time when healthcare faces historic workforce shortages and rising demands. The AACN argued that excluding post-baccalaureate nursing disregards decades of progress and contradicts the DOE’s own acknowledgment that professional programs lead to licensure and direct practice.
Experts, including Patricia Pittman, director of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, called the decision a “gut punch” to nursing, noting that advanced education is the single best way to retain nurses, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Advanced practice registered nurses often ensure essential, high-quality care access in these communities.
For now, nurses and students must await further updates from groups like the ANA and AACN while exploring all financial aid options, as the new measures are slated for implementation on July 1, 2026.
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Keywords: Professional Degree
Professional Degree
