Several professional degrees were removed from the official "professional degree" classification by the U.S. Department of Education under President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBBA) regulations, which are set to take effect starting July 1, 2026. Notably, the degrees removed from the "professional" category include:
- Nursing (including nurse practitioner programs)
- Physician Assistant
- Physical Therapy
- Audiology
- Architecture
- Accounting
- Education (educators)
- Social Work
- Public Health (e.g., MPH, DrPH)
- Counseling
- Speech Pathology
- Engineering
- Business Administration (Master’s level)
These degrees, traditionally considered professional qualifications, are excluded from higher federal student loan limits and certain loan forgiveness programs reserved for professional degrees like medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, optometry, podiatry, chiropractic, theology, and clinical psychology. The exclusion has triggered significant concern and criticism from professional organizations and educators, highlighting that it may limit access to education in high-demand fields, particularly those dominated by women and essential healthcare roles. The change is perceived as financially challenging for students in these fields and risks undermining workforce pipelines in healthcare, education, and social services sectors.
