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Is nursing a professional degree
Executive summary
Federal rulemaking in late 2025 by the U.S. Department of Education proposes a new definition of “professional degree” that, according to multiple nursing organizations, would exclude many graduate nursing programs and limit federal loan access for nurse practitioners, CRNAs and others [1] [2] [3]. Nursing groups including the American Nurses Association and AACN warn this change could jeopardize advanced nursing pipelines, while negotiated-rulemaking records show the Department and stakeholders are actively debating which programs to list as “professional” [1] [2] [4].
1. What “professional degree” means in the current debate — and why it matters
The Department of Education’s proposed professional-degree definition matters because it determines who is treated as a “professional student” for federal loan limits and Grad PLUS access; negotiators framed a professional student as someone in a program that “awards a professional degree upon completion,” and committee notes show the RISE negotiators are defining which CIP codes and programs qualify [4]. Nursing organizations say the proposed definition as drafted would exclude graduate nursing tracks (NP, nurse anesthetist, midwifery) and thereby reduce borrowing and forgiveness options for students pursuing those credentials [1] [2] [3].
2. Nursing organizations’ response: unified alarm, practical concerns
The American Nurses Association and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing have issued strong statements urging the Department to revise its definition to explicitly include nursing pathways, arguing exclusion would “jeopardize efforts to strengthen and expand the U.S. nursing workforce” and “significantly limit student loan access” for advanced nursing education [1] [2]. Local nursing leaders and commentators echo those concerns, warning the change could make graduate school unaffordable for many and shrink pipelines for clinicians who provide rural and underserved care [3] [5].
3. Department negotiators and other stakeholders: an unfinished argument
Negotiated-rulemaking transcripts and commentary indicate the Department is actively debating the technical scope of “professional degree,” and other health professions (physician assistants, PT, OT, counseling) were raised in committee as candidates to be included — showing the issue is contested and not settled [4]. The negotiators’ notes also reveal stakeholders asked for specific CIP codes to be named, which would be the mechanism to include or exclude particular nursing graduate programs [4].
4. What the change would mean for students and programs in practice
If graduate-level nursing programs are excluded from the professional-degree classification as critics claim, students pursuing MSN or DNP tracks that lead to advanced practice roles could face reduced Grad PLUS eligibility, capped borrowing, and altered pathways to loan forgiveness. News reporting and nursing leaders explain that such funding shifts could directly affect affordability and enrollment in advanced nursing specialties [3] [2]. Academic program pages and centralized applications underscore that nursing already carries multiple degree levels (BSN, MSN, DNP, PhD), meaning a rule that differentiates “professional” status could create inconsistent treatment across those established pathways [6] [7].
5. Alternative perspectives and open questions the reporting does not settle
Available sources do not present a clear statement from the Department that nursing will be permanently excluded — negotiators are still defining the terms and some committee members explicitly urged adding nursing and other health professions to the list [4]. Likewise, the Department’s rationale for the draft definition — e.g., budgetary, programmatic, or policy aims — is not contained in the cited nursing and trade-group reactions, so available sources do not mention the Department’s full justification in these excerpts [1] [2] [4].
6. Practical takeaway for students, educators and policymakers
Nurses, prospective graduate students, and nursing schools should track the RISE negotiated-rulemaking outputs and public comments because inclusion or exclusion in the professional-degree list would materially affect access to federal Grad PLUS loans and borrowing caps [4] [3]. Nursing organizations are mobilizing to press the Department to explicitly include graduate nursing programs; universities and state-level leaders have already voiced concern and provided local examples of how funding changes could reduce graduate enrollment [1] [3] [2].
Limitations: this briefing relies on advocacy statements, local news coverage, program descriptions and negotiated-rulemaking notes provided above; available sources do not include the Department of Education’s final regulation text or a standalone, detailed explanation from ED in these snippets, so the ultimate legal outcome and full administrative rationale remain unresolved [4] [1] [2].