Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
What is the List Of Degrees No Longer Considered ‘Professional’ By Trump’s Education Department
Executive summary
Reporting shows the Department of Education under the Trump administration proposed or was reported to be narrowing what it counts as a “professional degree,” and several outlets list programs—most prominently nursing (MSN, DNP) and other clinical master’s and doctoral credentials—as affected; Newsweek and Snopes both report a list that includes education (teaching master’s), nursing, social work, public health, physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, speech‑language pathology, and counseling/therapy degrees [1] [2]. The Department of Education told Newsweek the agency is using a long‑standing regulatory definition and disputed characterizations that the change is new or a unilateral reclassification [3] [2].
1. What the headlines claim — a fast, sweeping reclassification
Several news outlets and social posts framed this development as the Department of Education “no longer counting” nursing and many other postbaccalaureate programs as professional degrees, which would affect who qualifies for the higher $200,000 aggregate loan limit for professional students under the administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill implementation [1] [3]. Newsweek ran headlines explicitly naming nursing and other health‑service and education credentials as excluded from the professional‑degree category, and that reporting prompted public concern from nursing groups and politicians [1].
2. The specific programs being discussed in reporting
Public reporting that assembled a “full list” identifies: education (including teaching master’s), nursing (MSN, DNP), social work (MSW, DSW), public health (MPH, DrPH), physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, speech‑language pathology and counseling and therapy degrees as those the department would not treat as “professional degrees” in practice under its stated interpretation [2] [1].
3. Department of Education’s pushback and legal framing
The Department of Education told Newsweek that the agency is using a consistent, decades‑old regulatory definition of “professional degree,” and a department spokesperson called claims that it had newly reclassified programs “fake news at its finest,” while noting proposed rules align with historical precedent [3] [2]. Snopes reports the department said the language of proposed rules “aligns with this historical precedent,” and that the department expects to release final rules by spring 2026 [2].
4. Why this matters — loans, workforce and institutional reaction
Whether a program is labeled “professional” affects access to higher loan limits (Newsweek ties the reclassification to eligibility for the $200,000 aggregate loan cap for professional students) and therefore can influence student finances and institutional enrollment planning [1] [3]. Nursing organizations like the American Association of Colleges of Nursing warned excluding nursing contradicts the department’s own acknowledgment that professional programs lead to licensure and direct practice and argued the change could undermine nursing workforce pipelines [1].
5. Conflicting narratives and political context
The reporting sits inside a larger Trump administration effort to downsize or dismantle parts of the Education Department—moving offices and functions to other agencies via interagency agreements—which fuels broader skepticism about motives [4] [5] [6]. Conservative‑leaning outlets and the department present the moves as “breaking up the federal education bureaucracy” and returning power to states [6] [7]. Critics, including education officials and union groups, call the actions destabilizing and a PR tactic ahead of larger policy shifts [8] [9].
6. Where reporting is unclear or disputed
Available sources indicate disagreement about whether the change is genuinely new or a reinterpretation of an existing 1965 regulatory definition; the Department asserts continuity with historical precedent while critics describe it as a narrowing interpretation that practically excludes many programs [2] [3]. Snopes notes the department said it was using a “narrow” interpretation of the longstanding definition [2]. Precise legal texts, the proposed final regulatory language, and the department’s official rulemaking documents were referenced in reporting but are not quoted in full in the available items, so readers should consult the agency’s proposed rule text for definitive legal language [2].
7. How stakeholders are reacting — organized pushback
Professional associations and some lawmakers publicly criticized the apparent exclusions; the AACN explicitly warned excluding nursing would contradict decades of progress and harm workforce development [1]. Meanwhile, the department framed some public alarm as overblown and tied the move to implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill’s loan‑limit and borrowing caps [2] [3].
8. Bottom line and recommended next steps for readers
Reporting identifies a clear list of programs that news outlets say would no longer be treated as “professional degrees” in practice (education master’s, nursing, social work, public health, PA, OT, PT, audiology, SLP, counseling/therapy) but the Department of Education disputes characterizations that this is a novel reclassification and points to historical regulatory definitions [2] [1] [3]. For confirmation, consult the Department of Education’s published proposed rule text, the agency press release and any final rule when released (the department said final rules were expected by spring 2026), and statements from relevant professional associations for how institutions and students may be affected [2] [6].