The U.S. Department of Education’s new classification of professional degrees limits access to federal loans for some graduate students starting in July.
A degree being classified as professional means program attendees are eligible to take out higher loan amounts and has nothing to do with the professional natures of the degrees, according to a news release from the department.
The department’s federal loan cap for the degrees considered professional is $200,000, compared to the non-professional cap of $100,000, the news release reads.
Prior to the change, all graduate students were eligible for the same loan restriction cap and could only borrow loans equivalent to the cost of attendance. There were no previous classifications for professional degrees.
According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, degrees classified as professional include:
- Doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences
- Doctorate of dental surgery or dental medicine
- Doctorate in chiropractic sciences
- Graduate law degrees
- Doctorate in medicine
- Doctorate in optometry
- Doctorate in osteopathic medicine
- Doctorate in podiatry
- Master of theology
- Graduate clinical psychology
This list excludes a masters in public health, nursing programs, education degrees, architecture degrees, accounting degrees and physician assistant programs.
While undergraduate programs are not directly affected by this change, some University of Maryland students are left re-evaluating their future careers.
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Maura Graham, a junior neuroscience major on the pre-physician assistant track, has wanted to work in healthcare since she was in middle school.
“I want to help people,” she said, emphasizing her goal to have a career in a female-dominated field.
Graham is from New Jersey and plans to move back home to attend graduate school to offset costs, limiting her options, she added.
After working toward her goal for years, Graham said she felt disheartened to hear that her profession was being devalued by the administration.
The new classifications come after President Donald Trump approved the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July in an attempt to simplify student loan repayment systems, said Nicholas Kent, the under secretary of education, in a news release.
The cap changes push some loan-seeking students into the private loan sector, where they could be subject to unregulated, higher interest rates.
The Grad PLUS loan program — which assists students with loans after other financial aid is exhausted — will also be eradicated in July 2026 due to the bill, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
University president Darryll Pines said that while administration is unsure how these new changes will affect this university, students should not worry.
”We know that the limits and amounts [of loans] have changed,” Pines told The Diamondback on Wednesday. “How that actually affects real students, we won’t know until we see it here at College Park.”
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Senior psychology major Nel Odike said they are submitting graduate school applications within the next few days, with high hopes to become a family therapist.
Odike said the declassification of social work as a professional degree is frustrating.
“The social sciences are already so undervalued,” Odike said. “It’s even more frustrating to know that even from a government standpoint, it’s even more undervalued.”
Freshman public health major Anthony Escobar said he has a personal connection to his degree. Cardiothoracic problems run in his family, which he said is why he decided to go on the pre-medicine track.
Escobar encourages people to advocate against this change, saying the new classification devalues the field.
“It’s a degree that really helps people,” Escobar said. “Without it, there can be so many problems.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Nel Odike’s name. This story has been updated.
