Nursing degrees reclassified, no longer considered a “professional degree”

WASHINGTON DC -- A new federal policy from the Trump administration is drawing concern from educators and healthcare leaders after reclassifying nursing programs so they are no longer recognized as “professional degrees”.

The change alters how the federal government defines professional programs — a category that traditionally includes careers requiring extensive training such as engineering, law and medicine. Nursing has now been removed from that list, raising questions about accessibility and long-term workforce impacts.

While the order does not change licensing requirements for nurses, it does affect how students can qualify for federal financial aid. Graduate-level nursing students will now fall under standard federal graduate loan limits, capping borrowing at $20,500 per year and removing access to expanded loan allowances that previously helped cover higher tuition programs.

Healthcare expert and reporter Anjalee Khemlani says the shift could make advanced nursing education significantly harder to afford.

“There are areas of the country where schooling does cost more, and so the annual cost does add up,” she said. “For the whole degree, they would have to borrow up to, or close to $200,000, and so this really puts a damper on where you'll see folks being able to get their degrees if they're not included in this category.”

Khemlani says limiting loan availability may discourage students from pursuing higher-level nursing degrees — a concern that hits rural communities especially hard. Many rural healthcare systems already rely on nurses to take on expanded responsibilities due to limited staffing.

“States where they have larger rural areas have really pushed to give nurses more responsibility and more authority on patient care in the past several years,” Khemlani said. “If nurses are unable to get those degrees and move out to or work in these rural areas, that’s going to put even more pressure on the ability for individuals to get care in these areas.”

Nursing isn’t the only field affected. Other programs losing professional-degree status include physician assistant and physical therapy programs, along with degrees in education and social work.