The Trump Administration has introduced sweeping changes to student loan caps under its One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which will exclude nursing from the list of “professional degrees.”
In doing so, future nursing students in the US will face significantly reduced loan limits, raising concerns about the accessibility of the profession.
Graduate students in fields not classified as “professional degrees” are limited to $20,500 annually, with a lifetime cap of $100,000. As such, the policy changes are slated to eliminate the Grad PLUS program and cap Parent PLUS loans for nursing students, a move described as a major blow to the nursing community across the country.
In contrast, degrees deemed “professional”, such as pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and chiropractic, will continue to receive higher levels of funding.
Experts warned that the consequences will be far-reaching. The new caps are expected to affect hundreds of thousands of students, with predictions that the healthcare sector will suffer a significant decline in nursing numbers at a time of critical workforce shortages.
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, President of the American Nurses Association, decried the move.
“At the time when health care in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care,” Mensik Kennedy cautioned.
Patricia Pittman, professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, echoed the concern.
“There is no question that this is a gut punch for nursing. It is unconscionable that in a period when government should be focused on finding ways to retain licensed nurses in the field, the cap on loans represents a major barrier to continued education,” Pittman commented in relation to the policy announcement.
Olga Yakusheva, professor of nursing and health economics at Johns Hopkins University, highlighted the policy’s broader implications.
“The impact will be increased shortages of primary care, especially in areas with significant physician shortages. This could mean longer wait times, less time with providers, and heavier workloads for physicians,” Yakusheva said.
In response to mounting criticism, Ellen Keast, Trump’s Press Secretary for Higher Education, dismissed the backlash.
“This is fake news at its finest,” Keast said. “The Department has had a consistent definition of what constitutes a professional degree for decades, and the consensus-based language aligns with this historical precedent.”
The changes are scheduled to take effect on 1 July 2026.