Overview
- Congress ended Grad PLUS and set fixed federal caps starting July 1, 2026: $20,500 per year and $100,000 total for most graduate students, and $50,000 per year and $200,000 total for those in designated professional programs.
- An Education Department committee in November backed a working definition of professional degrees that follows federal code examples and adds clinical psychology, leaving nursing classified for the lower caps pending final rules.
- The department says its data show 95% of nursing students borrow below the annual $20,500 limit and would not be affected by the cap in a typical year.
- Nursing organizations and individual clinicians call the proposal “insulting” and warn it could reduce access to advanced training and worsen provider shortages, with an American Nurses Association petition surpassing 200,000 signatures.
- Officials say the definition aligns with longstanding precedent, while supporters of the cap structure argue it may pressure high-cost programs to lower prices; a formal comment period is expected in early 2026 before finalization.