Overview
- The proposed rule would cap federal borrowing at $20,500 a year ($100,000 lifetime) for graduate programs and $50,000 a year ($200,000 lifetime) for designated professional degrees, replace Grad PLUS, and apply to loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026.
- The draft list of 11 professional fields includes medicine, law, pharmacy and newly added clinical psychology, but it does not include nursing, social work, physical therapy or education.
- Graduate nursing students would fall under the lower cap, prompting warnings from nursing schools and associations about fewer advanced practice nurses and faculty as many programs cost more than the $20,500 annual limit.
- The department says loan limits are intended to rein in tuition and notes its data show 95% of nursing students already borrow below the annual cap.
- The plan is not final and will go to public comment, as petitions exceeding 200,000 signatures and statements from national and state nursing groups press the agency to revise the definition.