Which graduate degrees were removed from the Department of Education's professional degree list in 2025?

1. What the department announced: a redefinition and program transfers

The Education Department announced six interagency agreements to move major program offices to Labor, Interior, HHS and State and concurrently pursued changes to how it defines “professional degree programs,” a move framed as “returning education to the states” and reducing federal bureaucracy ^{[3] [4] [5]}.

2. Public-health degrees singled out in advocacy reporting

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) says the department’s RISE committee reached preliminary consensus on a proposed definition of “professional degree programs” that would exclude public‑health degrees — specifically the Master of Public Health (MPH) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) — and warned that excluding them could shrink students’ access to higher federal loan limits ^[1].

3. Nursing: local reporting says it’s been reclassified

At least one local outlet reported that the Education Department “reclassifies nursing degrees” and that “nursing no longer counts as a professional degree,” linking that reclassification to eligibility for higher federal borrowing limits for “professional students.” That Statesman story presents the reclassification as part of the department’s updated definition, but it is a single local report in the set of sources provided ^[2].

4. National press frames the action as part of dismantling ED

Major national outlets — The New York Times, Washington Post and others — place the change to professional‑degree definitions in the larger context of the Trump administration’s effort to disperse or eliminate Education Department functions ^{[5] [6] [7]}. Those outlets focus on program transfers and legal/political implications rather than publishing an exhaustive list of every specific graduate degree removed from the professional category ^{[5] [7]}.

5. What’s explicitly documented in the available sources

The explicit, citable specifics in these sources are: (a) the Education Department signed six interagency agreements moving programs to other agencies ^[3]; (b) ASPPH reports a proposal to exclude MPH and DrPH from the professional‑degree definition ^[1]; and (c) a Statesman piece reports nursing was reclassified out of the professional‑degree category ^[2]. None of the other provided articles supply a formal full list of every graduate degree removed ^{[5] [4] [3]}.

6. Competing perspectives and why they matter

Supporters frame the redefinition and transfers as streamlining federal roles and directing funds to students and states (quoted in department materials and coverage) ^{[3] [5]}. Critics — professional associations and education advocates — warn exclusion of public‑health and clinical degrees will restrict loan access, weaken workforce pipelines, and is part of a broader, partisan effort to dismantle the department ^{[1] [8] [9]}. National outlets characterize the moves as aligned with Project 2025 and the administration’s long‑term goal to diminish or eliminate ED ^{[5] [10]}.

7. Limitations in coverage — what the sources do not say

Available sources do not provide a definitive, department‑issued list enumerating every graduate degree removed from the “professional degree” category; they contain reporting of proposals (ASPPH) and at least one local report about nursing, but a comprehensive, final list is not found in the materials given ^{[1] [2] [3]}. If you need the official, final list, current reporting does not include it — checking the Department of Education’s formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or the department’s rule documents would be the next step ^{[3] [1]}.

8. Bottom line for students and institutions

Reporting indicates proposed and announced changes could remove MPH, DrPH and — per some reporting — nursing degrees from the professional‑degree category, with tangible consequences for student loan caps and financial planning; however, the full scope and a finalized official list are not provided in these sources, and affected students and institutions should watch for the department’s formal rulemaking documents and comment periods ^{[1] [2] [3]}.