A new ruling reopens the battle over whether graduate school nursing programs qualify for higher federal student loan limits.
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Graduate nursing programs won a temporary reprieve late Wednesday when a federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Education from implementing a restrictive definition of “professional degree,” just days before the July 1 start of a dramatic reduction in what graduate students can borrow.
In a 52-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled in favor of a coalition of healthcare organizations—including the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the PA Education Association—granting a stay of a new regulatory definition of “professional degree” pending further judicial review.
The ruling does not strike down the new graduate loan limits enacted by Congress or restore the now-eliminated Grad PLUS loan program, which allowed students to borrow the full cost of their programs, including living expenses. Under the new caps, most graduate students are limited to borrowing $20,500 annually and $100,000 overall, while those studying for “professional” degrees can borrow $50,000 a year or $200,000 in total. The restrictions were part of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Republicans passed on a party-line vote last summer.
Instead, the ruling temporarily prevents the Education Department from using its narrower definition of “professional degree.” Congress incorporated an 18-year-old federal framework defining a professional degree into the law. However, Howell found the department likely exceeded its authority by adding new eligibility requirements that Congress never stipulated. These new rules stipulated that qualifying programs generally be at the doctoral level, require at least six years of postsecondary education and prepare graduates for independent practice, not under the supervision of another professional. The department had used the supervision requirement to find that NPs and PAs, who can practice independently in some states but not in others, weren’t professionals. That limited graduate nursing students to borrowing $20,500 a year, while students in clinical psychology, optometry and podiatry, as well as medicine, dentistry and law, could borrow $50,000.
“The idea that anyone could both live on and pay for tuition with $20,500 a year is not workable,” Sarah Szanton, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, told Forbes. “It’s a victory for the health of the nation. There’s nobody who thinks there needs to be fewer nurses.” For the coming academic year beginning in fall 2026, Hopkins maintained the same number of graduate student applicants as the prior year, she said, but had been bracing for withdrawals once students confronted the financial reality of the new loan caps. “We were certain that starting in July, we would see people who had applied and gotten in realize they couldn’t afford nursing school. Those students can now breathe a sigh of relief.”
The judge also noted that the department had already acknowledged during the rulemaking process that master’s and doctoral nursing programs may satisfy the longstanding three-part definition. Still, the agency excluded them under its new interpretation.
“While this ruling is temporary, it represents an important step toward ensuring that nurses pursuing advanced education have equitable access to the financial resources needed to meet our nation’s growing healthcare needs,” said Antonia Villarruel, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
The key word is “temporary.” The stay blocks the department’s narrowed definition while the issue is litigated, but it does not overturn the underlying law or restore Grad PLUS loans. As Howell wrote, “It is Congress that has the authority to change the statute, not the courts.”
In a statement to Forbes, a department spokesperson said, “This order allows ED to enforce the statutory professional degree definition and loan caps. ED is reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.”
That leaves unclear whether the Trump administration intends to appeal the ruling or how it might implement it.
“Nurse practitioners and physician assistants together do about 25% of primary care in this country,” Szanton said. “And there’s nobody who thinks primary care is too easy to access.”
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