DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Under President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the Department of Education is updating which programs are considered professional degrees.
Nursing is not considered a professional degree, and students are concerned about how this will impact their financial aid.
“Nursing and even physicians and assistants, we really bridge the gap and buffer the provider shortage that’s going on right now in America,” said CRNA student Gavin Withaeger.
Students pursuing professional degrees can borrow $200,000 overall. But non-professional degrees can borrow $100,000 max. Withaeger will accumulate roughly $150,000 in loans after he completes his program. The bill eliminates the Grad Plus loan program, which has helped him pay for school.
“It’s the loans that let me become the best provider possible because I can focus on school, not going and working 20, 30 hours part-time on top of already doing school 40 to 50 hours a week,” Withaeger said.
According to a 1965 federal law, nursing has never been considered a professional degree, but experts say it requires a high level of education.
“Nursing anesthetists or CNAs, they also need those advanced degrees and they need a license. They should have access to the same types of loans or the same amount of loans that other professions also have access to,” said University of Illinois Chicago Dean of Nursing Eileen Collins.
Nursing isn’t the only degree that could be impacted. The bill considers social work and therapy degrees non-professional as well.
The following disciplines have been excluded from the updated list of professional degrees:
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Nursing (including MSN and DNP programs)
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Architecture
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Accounting
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Social Work (MSW, DSW)
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Public Health (MPH, DrPH)
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Occupational Therapy
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Physical Therapy
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Audiology
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Speech-Language Pathology
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Counseling and Therapy Degrees
The American Nursing Association has a petition to reverse this decision. The change will take place in July 2026.
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