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Why did Trump exclude "professional" from Nursing degrees?
Executive summary
The Department of Education, implementing parts of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA), has revised which graduate programs it labels “professional degrees,” and nursing (including MSN and DNP programs) is not on the department’s updated list — a change that could reduce eligible loan limits from $200,000 for “professional” programs to lower caps for other graduate students [1] [2]. Nursing groups warn this may reduce access to advanced nursing education; the department says it is using a longstanding definition of “professional degree” and will finalize rules in 2026 [3] [2].
1. What changed and why it matters: the loan-cap mechanics
Under the OBBBA implementation, only students in programs the Department of Education classifies as “professional degrees” may access the higher aggregate borrowing limits tied to those programs — news coverage cites a $200,000 aggregate limit for professional-degree students versus a $100,000 cap (or other lower caps for graduate students) under the new rules — so reclassifying nursing has direct financial consequences for graduate nursing students who previously relied on larger borrowing allowances [1] [3] [4].
2. How the department defines “professional degree” and its defense
The Department of Education told reporters it is using the same definition of “professional degree” it has used “for decades” and that the language of the proposed rules aligns with historical precedent; the agency expects to release final rules by spring 2026 [2]. News outlets summarize the department’s working list as including medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology and clinical psychology — with many health professions such as nursing, physician assistant, and physical therapy left off that list [1].
3. Who’s excluded and the scale of the affected programs
Reporting and professional groups list several excluded programs beyond nursing — physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, audiologists, social work and public health degrees among them — and the change could affect hundreds of thousands of students; Newsweek and nursing groups point to more than 260,000 students enrolled in BSN programs and tens of thousands more in associate and graduate nursing pathways, underscoring the potential workforce impact [1].
4. Reactions from nursing organizations and educators
Nursing organizations — including the American Nurses Association and academic nursing leaders quoted in regional coverage — have warned that reducing loan access will make advanced practice education “harder and more expensive,” could deter prospective students, and “threatens the very foundation of patient care” by risking future workforce shortages [5] [3] [6].
5. Pushback and the rumors: what fact-checkers found
Fact-checkers noted a fast-spreading online rumor that the Education Department had suddenly reclassified nursing; Snopes reported the department’s proposal explicitly lists multiple degrees being excluded and quoted the department’s defense that its approach aligns with historical definitions, while also pointing out that the rulemaking affects borrowing limits created by OBBBA and that final rules are pending [2]. That assessment frames the situation as a policy implementation with immediate reporting, not necessarily a covert administrative rewrite.
6. Political and policy context: OBBBA’s broader goal
Coverage situates this reclassification inside the OBBBA’s broader objective to shrink graduate borrowing by eliminating programs like Grad PLUS and imposing new caps and repayment structures; the Department of Education and administration allies frame this as placing “commonsense limits and guardrails” on borrowing, while critics say it’s an austerity measure that shifts costs onto students [3] [2].
7. Competing frames and possible hidden agendas
Proponents of the change present it as technical alignment with longstanding definitions and fiscal restraint; opponents — including professional associations and nursing schools — argue the choice reflects a prioritization of certain professions over others and could preserve taxpayer exposure to expensive professional programs while pushing other clinically essential degrees into tighter borrowing limits. Some reporting includes Department of Education commentary suggesting institutions are reacting because their “unlimited tuition ride on the taxpayer dime is over,” a phrase signaling a policy aim to curb institutional borrowing reliance [2].
8. What’s unresolved and what to watch next
Final rules are not published; the Education Department says it will release final regulations by spring 2026, and the department’s definitive legal language will determine whether specific degrees (MSN, DNP, MSW, MPH, etc.) remain excluded or are re-included, and how loan caps and any Repayment Assistance Plan will operate in practice — available sources do not mention the final rule text yet [2] [3].
Bottom line: multiple reputable outlets and a fact-check summary report the Department of Education’s working redefinition excludes nursing from the category that receives higher borrowing limits under OBBBA; the department justifies the move as alignment with historical definitions while nursing groups warn of workforce and equity harms — the issue hinges now on final rule language and possible political or legal challenges [1] [2] [3].