WASHINGTON, D.C. — A budget amendment advanced out of a House committee in June 2026, which proposes allowing master's and doctoral nursing programs access to higher federal student loan caps. Starting July 1, the Education Department will limit nursing students and most graduate students to borrowing $20,500 per year in federal student loans.

Currently, students in 11 designated programs, including optometry, medicine, and law, can borrow up to $50,000 annually. The proposed change would reclassify master's and doctoral nursing programs as professional degrees. The Education Department previously classified most academic programs, including nursing, as graduate degrees rather than professional degrees following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Congress passed this act, which established dollar amounts for loan caps and directed the Education Department to classify degree programs.

A provision in the fiscal year 2027 budget bill would prohibit the Education Department from using federal funds to administer student aid programs unless advanced nursing programs are designated as professional degree programs. These advanced nursing programs would include training for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse-midwives, and nurse anesthetists. If enacted, this policy change would not take effect before October 1.

Multiple state governments and professional associations have filed lawsuits against the Education Department concerning its definition of professional programs, though courts have not yet issued rulings. New York Republican Representative Mike Lawler sponsors the Professional Student Degree Act, and New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced identical legislation in the Senate.

Craig Lindwarm, Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, stated that this is a limited expansion and has many more legislative steps, but represents important progress. Lindwarm added that his organization appreciates the congressional support to address what he called inadequacies in the current definition of professional programs, which leaves students without needed support for critical U.S. workforce fields.

Emmanual Guillory, Senior Director of Government Relations at the American Council on Education, noted that it would be more ideal if Congress could agree to the change before July 1. He said the Education Department would have to abide by the changes if and when they are agreed to, regardless of the timing. Jill Desjean, Director of Policy Analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said her organization has not taken a position on which programs should be eligible for the $50,000 cap, but that a static list of rules saying who qualifies is needed.

The Education Department would need to update its software systems before institutions could distribute any adjusted federal aid. When private loans are used to cover the gap created by the current cap, lenders often require borrowers to have a strong credit score or a co-signer.