The U.S. Department of Education has sparked public anger by ruling that nursing degrees will no longer be classified as “professional degrees.”
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, students in programs labeled as professional degrees can access up to $200,000 in federal student loans, while other degrees are capped at $100,000. Excluding nursing—a field with over 260,000 bachelor’s and 42,000 associate degree students—has raised concerns that it will worsen the national nursing shortage and reduce healthcare quality.
Healthcare leaders reacted strongly:
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Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy (American Nurses Association): “Nurses are the backbone of America’s health care system… This will prevent people from entering nursing education, including those training the next generation.”
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American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Criticized the decision as undermining equality among health professions and contradictory to the Department’s own definitions.
The Department of Education defended the move, saying the definition of professional degrees has “aligned with history” and was agreed upon by a committee of higher education institutions.
Degrees still considered professional include: medicine, pharmacy, law, dentistry, osteopathic medicine, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, chiropractic care, theology, and clinical psychology.
Impact: The decision could significantly affect access to federal student loans for nursing students and potentially deter future entrants into the profession, further straining the healthcare system.