Which master's and doctoral degrees did the Department of Education reclassify as non-professional in 2025?

1. What the Department actually did: narrowed the “professional” category

During the RISE (Reimagining and Improving Student Education) committee rulemaking to implement student‑loan provisions of OBBBA/H.R.1, negotiators produced draft regulations that sharply limited which degree programs count as “professional,” recognizing only 11 primary programs plus some doctoral programs for the higher $200,000 borrowing cap; by implication many other graduate programs would be excluded from that professional designation ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Which programs are explicitly flagged in reporting

Reporting and advocacy groups highlight two concrete flashpoints: nursing programs were reported in local coverage as being reclassified out of the “professional” bucket ^[4], and public health leaders warned the proposed definition would exclude MPH and DrPH programs ^[3]. These examples show the rule changes reached into health‑related graduate education in ways that alarmed professional associations and some local outlets ^{[4] [3]}.

3. What “11 primary programs” means — and the limits of that phrase

The Association of American Universities and other observers summarize the committee’s outcome as recognizing 11 primary professional programs and “some doctoral programs” for special treatment; they do not publish the complete list in the provided extracts, and New America’s summary describes the department’s final language as defining a professional degree around a set of listed fields plus clinical psychology and programs sharing 4‑digit CIP codes with those fields ^{[1] [2]}. Available sources do not mention the full enumerated list of the 11 fields in these excerpts ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Consequences for students and institutions

Limiting the professional label affects eligibility for the $200,000 cap and intersects with termination of Grad PLUS in the bill; universities, especially professional schools, warned that excluding programs would constrain student access to federal loans and could make some fields (notably public health and nursing in coverage) harder to afford and to staff at scale ^{[1] [3] [4]}.

5. Competing perspectives: the Department/administration vs. higher‑ed advocates

Advocates and research universities argue the proposal will “threaten access” and weaken workforce pipelines for excluded fields ^{[1] [3]}. Conversely, administration officials framed transfers of Education Department functions as efficiency measures in other contexts ^{[5] [6]}, and the department’s rule language tightens the legal definition of “professional degree” tied to preexisting regulation dated July 4, 2025, which supporters say brings clarity to the loan program ^{[2] [1]}. Both frames appear in the materials: concerns about access and workforce ^{[1] [3]} and administrative/legal rationales for narrower definitions ^[2].

6. What reporting does not yet show — key unknowns

Available reporting excerpts do not publish a complete, official list of every master’s and doctoral program reclassified as non‑professional in 2025; they summarize the rulemaking outcome (11 primary programs + some doctorates) and highlight contested fields like nursing and public health but do not provide a definitive, itemized roster ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Therefore: any claim naming every master’s and doctoral degree reclassified as non‑professional is not supported by the provided sources ^{[1] [2]}.

7. How to verify the full list (how readers can follow up)

To get the authoritative list, look for the Department of Education’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or the final regulatory language that codifies the 11 fields and the specific doctoral programs (New America references the department’s final language and RISE outputs as the place such definitions live) ^{[2] [1]}. Also monitor statements from professional associations (e.g., ASPPH for public health) and university consortia, which are already preparing comments and analyses ^{[3] [1]}.

8. Bottom line for readers

The 2025 rulemaking materially narrowed which graduate degrees are “professional,” with concrete reports of nursing and public health being affected and an agreed draft recognizing only 11 primary programs plus some doctoral programs — but the provided sources do not publish a complete, confirmed list of every master’s and doctoral degree reclassified as non‑professional; readers should consult the Department’s rule text or formal notices for a definitive roster ^{[1] [3] [4]}.