Federal Judge Expands Professional Degree List for Higher Student Loan Caps

A federal judge in Washington blocked the Education Department's definition of professional degrees last week, expanding the list of graduate programs eligible for higher federal student loan limits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The ruling came after the department initially identified only 11 degrees that qualified for the $50,000 annual cap, excluding fields such as nursing and physical therapy.

Court Ruling Details Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S.

District Court for the District of Columbia said the agency narrowed the scope of professional degrees beyond what Congress intended during its regulatory process. On Monday the Education Department published an updated list of more than 20 professional degrees that qualify for the higher caps during the court's stay.

Those degrees now include registered nursing, physician associates and speech-language pathology.

Women were expected to be especially affected by the original narrower list, as they account for more than 70 percent of graduates in programs that had been excluded, according to a report by EdTrust. Professional students can now borrow up to $50,000 per year with a lifetime aggregate limit of $200,000.

Other graduate students remain subject to an annual cap of $20,500 and an aggregate limit of $100,000.

Fuller, president of the American

Association of Nurse Practitioners, said the preliminary ruling is an important step for nurse practitioner students and future health care workforce needs. Nancy Nierman, assistant director of the Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program in New York, noted that the court's ruling did not eliminate the loan caps established by the legislation.