Outrage as popular college degree is no longer counted as ‘professional’ by Trump administration

A wave of anger has erupted after the Department of Education ruled that a widely pursued college major will not be recognized as a “professional degree.” The decision affects access to higher student loan limits established in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Under the act, students enrolled in designated professional programs can borrow up to $200,000, while all others are capped at $100,000. Nursing, however, was excluded from the list of professional pathways—a move that has alarmed major medical and educational organizations.

With more than 260,000 students in Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs and over 42,000 pursuing Associate Degrees in Nursing, critics warn the ruling could worsen the nation’s already strained healthcare workforce. Many fear fewer students will be able to afford nursing school.

Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nursing Association, said the decision jeopardizes patient care, noting the country is already short tens of thousands of nurses. She warned that limiting loan access could also hinder the training of future nurse educators.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing issued a similar warning, arguing that excluding nursing undermines decades of progress in treating health professions equally. The organization said the proposal could seriously damage the already fragile nursing pipeline.

The Department of Education maintains that it is simply following long-standing definitions of professional degrees. A spokesperson said the committee—made up of higher education institutions—agreed on the criteria, and dismissed criticism as an attempt to protect inflated tuition costs.

According to the updated classification, professions such as medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, theology, and clinical psychology qualify as professional, while fields like nursing, physical therapy, education, and accounting do not.