Nurse: Professional or Not?

With new student loan caps taking effect in July, the definition of a “professional degree” has changed, which affects students pursuing advanced nursing degrees.  This change stems from President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed in July of 2025.  The United States Department of Education stated that loan limits for students in graduate programs will be capped at $20,500 per year, with a lifetime limit of $100,000, and that using the term “professional degree” distinguishes programs that qualify for higher loan limits. 

Despite this, nursing is not the only degree excluded from the “professional” title. Programs including accounting, physical therapy, special education, social work, and public health have also been excluded. The Department has since cleared up that the term doesn’t determine the importance of a program or whether it’s professional in nature. 

So why is this happening? The Secretary of Education, Nicholas Kent, has issued a statement saying the change will put pressure on universities to lower tuition rates while relieving pressure on students who are incurring debt to pay off student loans. However, this may not be the case for every student. Some professionals have stated that this will not reduce the cost but only the quality of education for nursing students. 

Antonia Villarruel, dean of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, states, “This is not going to decrease the cost. It’s an expensive program to train, to educate practitioners. The simulated experiences that they have, so they’re not experimenting with patients in the hospital, they do it on dummies, and that all costs. We are already looking for efficiencies in what we teach … without compromising quality.” 

So what does this mean for the future of nursing? The Department of Education published information stating that 95% of nursing students borrow under the $20,500 annual loan cap and will not be affected by the change. The American Nurses Association has noted that the groups most affected by the loan caps are graduate nursing students, including advanced practice nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthesiologists. 

Some researchers have predicted that if individuals can’t qualify for federal loans, there will be many fewer graduates of advanced registered nurse programs able to enter the workforce, leading to a shortage of qualified professionals and a significant delay in public access to care. 

Serena Warner, a 12th-grader looking to major in nursing, stated that she feels this exclusion of nursing is insulting to the profession. “Many nursing students drop out within the second year because of the sheer amount of dedication and hard work needed. Nursing is an important field that is essential to the public.” So what is the public doing about it? 

The American Nurses Association said that over 200,000 nurses and patients have signed its petition demanding that the Education Department explicitly include advanced nursing degrees in the definition of a professional degree. The future of nursing seems uncertain, and career pathways for aspiring nursing students are changing.