Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which law signed by Donald Trump removed certain degrees from the 'professional' classification and when did it take effect?
Executive summary
The change removing nursing from the Department of Education’s list of “professional degrees” stems from the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which President Donald Trump signed in July 2025; under OBBBA the department set new loan caps and a narrower list of fields eligible for the higher “professional” borrowing cap (typically cited as $200,000 lifetime for professional students) [1] [2]. The Education Department’s regulatory work and draft definitions published in October–November 2025 explicitly exclude nursing from the fields it lists as professional programs, prompting reporting and reaction from nursing groups [3] [4] [5].
1. What law did this come from — and when was it signed?
The policy shift traces to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the Trump administration’s major 2025 legislative package that set new lifetime and annual federal student‑loan borrowing caps and directed the Department of Education to define which post‑baccalaureate programs qualify as “professional.” Multiple outlets link the new professional‑degree definition and loan caps directly to implementation of OBBBA, which Newsweek and other reporting say was signed in July 2025 [3] [1] [2].
2. What exactly changed — nursing excluded from the professional list
The Education Department’s new regulatory text and committee proposals narrow the list of fields that qualify for the higher professional borrowing cap to a set of about 10–11 programs—medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology, and clinical psychology in some versions—and do not list nursing among them. Newsweek, Yahoo/Blavity aggregations, Nurse.org and other outlets report the department “excluded nursing” when implementing OBBBA’s provisions [3] [6] [5].
3. When does the change take effect — implementation timeline in reporting
Reporting and departmental negotiation timelines indicate the Department of Education was moving toward final implementation in mid‑2026: Business Insider notes negotiation sessions with the department and states the department planned to move toward final implementation of the changes in July 2026 [7]. State‑level reporting also cites July 1, 2026 as the date when certain loan changes (including ending Grad PLUS) take effect, linking that schedule to OBBBA implementation [1]. InsideHigherEd and EducationCounsel reporting capture the negotiated rulemaking activity in November 2025 that set the definitions the department would apply [4] [8].
4. How this affects borrowers — loan caps and program eligibility
OBBBA imposes lifetime borrowing caps widely reported as $200,000 for professional students and $100,000 for graduate students, with annual and program limits described in press coverage; under the department’s new approach, programs not on the professional list (including nursing in these reports) would not be eligible for the higher professional cap and could face lower annual and lifetime federal borrowing access [1] [2]. Business Insider and NASFAA materials detail how ED’s negotiated rulemaking limits the professional category to specified CIP codes and outlines criteria such as doctoral‑level training and licensure requirements [7] [9].
5. Reactions and contested perspectives
Nursing associations and outlets covering the nursing workforce argued exclusion will worsen funding prospects for nursing students and could exacerbate shortages; Newsweek and Blavity relay criticism from the American Nurses Association and note the numbers of students enrolled in pre‑licensure nursing programs who could be affected [3] [6] [10]. The Education Department and supporters of OBBBA framed the change as a way to curb excessive borrowing and target higher caps to programs traditionally considered professional degrees; Business Insider quotes department officials saying the intent is to curb excessive borrowing while negotiators debated the list [7].
6. Limits of available reporting and outstanding questions
Available sources document the law (OBBBA), the department’s proposed/negotiated definition of “professional degree,” and a projected July 2026 implementation window for key loan changes, but they do not provide the full final regulatory text or a single citation that pins an exact effective date for every element of the rule beyond the departmental timetable and press reporting [4] [7] [1]. Sources do not mention whether there are grandfathering provisions for current students beyond general reporting on categories affected [3] [5]. For a definitive legal effective date and the exact regulatory language on grandfathering or exceptions, the department’s final rule in the Federal Register would be the primary document—available sources do not include that final text here [4] [8].
7. Bottom line for readers
The removal of nursing from the Department of Education’s list of “professional” programs is a regulatory implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July 2025; reporting places key implementation steps and the department’s negotiated rulemaking squarely in late 2025 and points to July 2026 as the target for major loan‑program changes, but the precise legal effective date for each regulatory change and details about grandfathering are not contained in the current reporting provided [1] [7] [4].