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Which list of degrees were reclassified as non-professional and where can the official notice be found?
Executive summary
The Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking (RISE committee) narrowed which programs count as “professional degrees,” reducing the universe from roughly 2,000 to under 600 and excluding many healthcare and social‑service programs — examples reported include nursing, physician assistant programs, advanced nursing (nurse practitioner) degrees, occupational therapy, audiology, social work, MPH/DrPH, and clinical psychology — which would lose higher federal loan limits [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. The department is expected to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with the official text and a 30‑day comment period; advocates and associations (e.g., ANA, ASPPH, CSWE, NASFAA, AAU) have already issued statements or analyses reacting to the proposed definition [4] [6] [3] [2] [7].
1. What was reclassified — the high‑level list and examples
Negotiators concluded a new regulatory definition that sharply limits which programs qualify as “professional degree” programs, resulting in a contraction from roughly 2,000 program entries to fewer than 600; reporting and advocacy posts identify excluded and at‑risk fields including nursing (BSN/ADN/advanced practice), physician assistant programs, occupational therapy, audiology, clinical psychology, social work, and many public‑health degrees such as the MPH and DrPH [1] [5] [3] [4]. NASFAA and New America summarize that the department’s approach ties the label to a short list of 11 primary fields plus some doctoral programs and to 4‑digit CIP code groupings, which is why many programs that previously were treated as professional would no longer qualify [2] [7] [8].
2. Why this matters — loan limits and practical effects
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) framework the professional‑degree designation triggers higher annual and aggregate federal loan limits (e.g., students in professional programs would have much larger limits than other graduate students starting July 1, 2026), so shifting programs out of that category directly reduces borrowing capacity for students in affected fields and could make advanced training less affordable [8] [2]. Associations warn this could choke pipelines for critical workforce areas — the American Nurses Association explicitly said the department has excluded nursing from the definition and urged engagement with stakeholders [6] [5].
3. Where the official notice will appear — NPRM and regulatory text
Multiple organizations report the department will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) implementing the RISE committee’s consensus text; that NPRM is the official place to find the precise list, the new regulatory language (likely amendments to 34 CFR 668.2), and the start of the public comment period [4] [2]. Available reporting and stakeholder pieces state the department reached consensus in negotiated rulemaking and that the NPRM is expected “in the coming weeks,” but the exact Federal Register notice URL or docket number is not provided in the current sources [4] [7].
4. Who is sounding the alarm — stakeholder positions and motives
Professional associations (American Nurses Association, ASPPH, CSWE), higher‑education groups (AAU, NASFAA), and policy analysts (New America) uniformly criticize the practical consequences of the new definition for workforce and access [6] [4] [3] [2] [8]. These organizations are protecting their members’ training pipelines and student financing; their advocacy frames the change as an access and workforce problem. The Department of Education’s rationale — to create a narrower, more administrable rule tied to CIP codes and a short list of fields — is described in explanations of the negotiated text [2] [7].
5. What is uncertain or not yet in reporting
Exact, itemized lists of every degree program removed or retained (the full less‑than‑600 list) and the formal Federal Register NPRM text or docket link are not provided in the available sources; reporting summarizes program categories and examples but does not publish the final regulatory text or an official notice link [1] [5] [2]. Therefore, available sources do not mention the complete official list or provide the Federal Register citation for the notice.
6. How to follow up and verify when the NPRM posts
Watch the Department of Education’s rulemaking docket on regulations.gov and the Federal Register for the Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the amended regulatory text (34 CFR 668.2) — stakeholder groups said the NPRM will open a 30‑day comment period once published [4] [2]. In the meantime, NASFAA, AAU, ASPPH, ANA, CSWE and others have analyses and statements that trace which fields they say are affected and explain the CIP‑code methodology the department used [2] [7] [4] [6] [3].
Limitations: this summary relies solely on the provided reporting and advocacy pieces; those pieces contain examples, reaction statements, and summaries of the negotiated definition but do not include the department’s official Federal Register text or an exhaustive program list [1] [5] [2] [4].