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

1. What the Department changed — the headline: nursing excluded

Journalists and health‑sector outlets reporting on the 2025 rule change focus on one clear, specific result: the Department’s revamped definition of “professional degree” excludes nursing, removing advanced nursing programs from the category used to set higher borrowing limits and certain student aid considerations ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Nursing organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Nursing objected, saying the exclusion disregards parity across health professions and threatens access to advanced nursing education ^{[4] [2]}.

2. What the change means in practice — loan limits and access

Coverage explains the practical effect: programs no longer classified as “professional” may not qualify for the larger borrowing caps and programmatic treatments tied to that designation, which could make pursuing advanced practice nursing degrees more costly and reduce eligibility for some federal loan and forgiveness pathways ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Some outlets state the change could exacerbate workforce shortages by discouraging students from entering or completing graduate nursing education ^[2].

3. What reporting does and does not say — gaps in the public record

None of the provided sources supply a full, itemized list of every master’s or doctoral program reclassified as non‑professional in 2025; the stories repeatedly single out nursing as the most prominent example and discuss the Department’s wider restructuring moves, but they do not publish an exhaustive degree roster ^{[4] [5]}. Therefore, available sources do not mention a complete list of every master’s and doctoral degree reclassified beyond the nursing example ^{[4] [1]}.

4. Broader policy context — departmental restructuring and the “One Big Beautiful Bill”

The redefinition of professional degrees is reported in a broader policy environment in which the Education Department is shifting many of its functions to other agencies and implementing elements of President Trump’s legislative agenda (described as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in multiple pieces), moves framed by officials as streamlining while critics warn they dismantle federal education capacity ^{[5] [6] [7]}. Coverage ties the nursing reclassification to those larger changes and political priorities, suggesting the decision is part of an administration‑level reorientation of federal education policy ^{[2] [5]}.

5. Stakeholder reactions — nursing groups and higher‑education commentators

Professional nursing organizations reacted strongly, calling the exclusion detrimental to workforce development and patient care; the American Association of Colleges of Nursing argued excluding postbaccalaureate nursing education “disregards decades of progress” and contradicts the Department’s own criteria linking professional programs to licensure and direct practice ^{[4] [2]}. Higher‑education commentators and associations also raised alarms over broader departmental moves that could create administrative disruption if student aid and program administration are parceled out to other departments ^{[8] [5]}.

6. Conflicting narratives and what to watch next

Official Department statements seen in press announcements frame the interagency agreements and definitional changes as efficiency gains and legal use of authority to reassign functions ^[5]. Critics, including higher‑education trade groups and reporting in outlets like Politico and Chalkbeat, see the same actions as steps toward dismantling the Department and creating fragmentation of student aid and program oversight ^{[6] [7]}. Watch for the Department’s formal rule text or a published list to corroborate which other degree titles, if any, were reclassified beyond nursing; those primary documents are not present in the current reporting ^{[4] [1]}.

7. Bottom line for the original question

The reporting available in this packet identifies nursing degrees as explicitly reclassified out of the “professional” category in 2025 and ties that change to impacts on graduate nursing students and federal loan treatment ^{[1] [2] [3]}. A comprehensive list of every master’s and doctoral degree reclassified as non‑professional is not provided in the supplied sources; therefore, available sources do not mention other specific degree titles beyond nursing ^{[4] [9]}.