ED Publishes New List of ‘Professional’ Degree Programs Following Court Decision

The Education Department published an updated list of which graduate degrees qualify as “professional” programs for higher federal loan caps, growing the list from just 11 degrees previously considered professional programs to 29 programs. The change follows a recent federal judge’s ruling that struck down the Department’s original definition, finding ED lacked authority to create its own criteria when Congress had already defined professional programs in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. ED officials said they believe their definition is lawful and will keep defending it in court, but will use the statutory definition to administer loan caps while litigation continues. Under the caps, students in programs designated as professional can borrow up to $50,000 annually or $200,000 over their lifetime, while other graduate students are capped at $20,500 a year and $100,000 total, replacing the prior system that let grad students borrow up to the full cost of attendance. The Department also noted that institutions can set their own program-level loan limits under a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act effective as of July 1, and suggested schools consider capping loans at graduate-level limits for now-professional programs given the ongoing legal uncertainty, reports Inside Higher Ed.