Education graduate degree programs remain excluded from the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) “professional” designation, despite the agency recently adding more programs to the list. In fact, on June 29, 2026, the USDE added nursing, physical therapy, athletic training. and occupational therapy to the list, which doubles the federal student loan cap to $200,000 for graduate degrees to the fields considered as “professional.”
The recent expansion came in response to a recent court order that temporarily blocked new regulations on the “professional” definition, which impacts federal student loan caps since programs that don’t fall under that definition are capped at $100,000 in federal student loans.
The USDE’s rule went into effect July 1, 2026.
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