A federal judge halted part of the Trump administration’s new student loan caps late Wednesday, blocking the Education Department’s definition of “professional degree” that had left nurses, physical therapists, public health workers and dozens of other healthcare fields subject to lower borrowing limits than traditional professional programs.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued a preliminary injunction after eight professional associations sued, arguing the department had exceeded its statutory authority and would force prospective students in their fields to either abandon graduate programs or take on more expensive private loans.
The caps were enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and were set to take effect in July. Under the new rules, graduate degree programs face a federal loan cap of $100,000, while programs classified as professional degrees are limited to $200,000. Previously, graduate students could borrow up to the full cost of their program.
The dispute centers on how the Education Department drew the line. The department classified pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology as professional programs subject to the higher cap. Nurse practitioner programs, physical therapy, public health, speech-language pathology and physician assistant programs were left in the lower-cap graduate category.
Howell found the department had added requirements to the “professional degree” definition that went beyond what Congress authorized, including a condition that professional degree holders must “work free from another professional’s supervision.” The judge said Congress never granted the agency that authority.
“Loss of opportunities for prospective students would be detrimental to the public, particularly in underserved communities that may face a shortage of healthcare and other critical professional services,” Howell wrote.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners, one of the eight plaintiffs, called the ruling “an important step for NP students, the future health care workforce and the patients who depend on them.”
The Education Department said it is “reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.” The department had previously defended the caps as a mechanism that was already incentivizing colleges and universities to lower graduate tuition.
The injunction does not affect the loan caps themselves, only the Education Department’s definition of which programs qualify as professional degrees. Students in nursing and the other affected fields will continue to face the $100,000 graduate loan limit until the case is resolved or the department revises its definitions.
