Starting July 1, 2026, a federal proposal would cap student borrowing for professional degree programs at $50,000 per year with a $200,000 lifetime limit, and cap borrowing for graduate programs not deemed professional at $20,500 per year with a $100,000 lifetime limit.
July 01, 2026
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temporal
Proposed federal student loan borrowing limits tied to definitions of professional and non-professional graduate programs.
The U.S. Department of Education's proposal defines a professional degree as one that 'signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession, and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree' and lists pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology as examples of professional degree programs.
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definition
Proposed regulatory definition and examples used to determine eligibility for higher student loan limits.
The referenced federal law associated with the proposal eliminates the Grad PLUS program, which previously allowed graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of obtaining a degree.
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policy
Change to federal graduate loan eligibility and borrowing limits.
The U.S. Department of Education stated that 95% of nursing students would not be impacted by the proposed borrowing cap and that enrolled students would be grandfathered into current lending limits to prevent barriers to completion.
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statistic
Agency projection about the distribution of nursing students relative to the proposed loan caps.