Trump Administration Disbars Nursing, Social Work from ‘Professional’ Degree List

The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will place limits on federal loans for “non-professional” graduate degrees, with both nursing and social work included in the categorization. 

After being signed into law in July, the bill finished the negotiated rulemaking process on Nov. 6 and will allow public comment before it takes effect in July 2026, according to the Association of American Universities.

“These loan limits will help drive down the cost of graduate programs and reduce the debt students have to take out,” the U.S. Department of Education (ED) wrote in an email to The Phoenix, referencing a general press release.

The definition of a “professional degree” is used by the ED to indicate which programs qualify for higher loan limits, not to judge the value and importance of certain graduate programs, according to the ED.

Provost and Chief Academic Officer Douglas Woods said he considers this predicted effect to be an “odd market argument.”

“This change would be hard to see because how much a university charges for a program is based on how expensive it is to train students in that program,” Woods said. “Nursing and social work are very hands-on, training intensive programs.”

Since universities are unable to decrease the costs of their programs, it may result in financial issues for current and future students, according to Woods.

“This proposal will potentially make it more difficult for students to enroll and stay in those programs,” Woods said.

“Non-professional” degrees are now capped at a $100,000 loan limit, while those considered to be “professional” will have a $200,000 loan limit, according to the ED.

This federal change raises the question of where students in “non-professional” areas of study will obtain the money to spend on graduate degrees, Dean of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Lorna Finnegan said.

Private loans are more challenging for students to get, due to the requirement of credit checks and other strict criteria, Finnegan said. She believes this ultimately will make graduate school less accessible.

“I think the students that it will most affect are students that come from under-resourced communities,” Finnegan said. “Students who are under-represented in nursing don’t often have the same resources as students who have more resources available to them. That ultimately affects representation and diversity in nursing.”

The possibility of federal loan limits on nursing graduate programs will not only limit the future nursing faculty, but the effects will “trickle down” to limit admission of nursing students, Finnegan said.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) also worries these loan limits will harm healthcare as a whole in addition to individual nurses and their professional advancement.

“If not corrected, this policy would create a barrier for many nurses seeking to advance their education, reduce access to patient care and impact the stability of the nursing workforce, including the nation’s supply of advanced practice nurses, researchers and faculty,” the AACN wrote in a statement.

Despite being considered a “non-professional” degree, social work degrees consist of a professional curriculum and licensing exam, according to Dean and Professor of the School of Social Work Patricia Findley.

The need for social work degrees, however, is still very necessary, according to Findley.

“There’s a demand for social workers in this country, and it continues to rise,” Findley said. Admissions into enrollment for social work programs across the country are on the upswing.” 

With private student loans possibly becoming more necessary, students who wish to pursue a social work degree will need to be more conscious about where they obtain their degrees, according to Findley.

Being ranked number 28th nationally in social work, Loyola currently offers the major through 49 credit hours, making the program “cheaper by virtue,” Findley said.

The social work program at Loyola, despite the program’s credential amount, still has extensive requirements for students, according to Findley.

Through a process called “signature pedagogy,” Loyola social work majors are required to complete 1000 hours of free internship experience over the typical two-year Master of Social Work (MSW) program. Finding ways to allow students to be paid for these internships has been a long-term national desire for many MSW programs, with Loyola being included among them, according to Findley.

Third-year social work major Juliscia Plascencia-Galvan said she’s not pleased with the new proposal from the Trump administration.

“I am very disappointed, and it makes me feel a bit discouraged,” Plascencia-Galvan said. “I think a lot of students might reconsider what to major in.”

Fourth-year nursing major Emily Kenny said she also finds the title “non-professional” to be hurtful to nurses who have worked hard to earn an education, despite the claims by the ED against the literal meaning in the context.

“When you see nursing as an unprofessional job, it’s kind of a spit in the face to the nurses who took years to get an education,” Kenny said. “It’s insulting to hear.”

The lack of understanding for nursing as a profession contributes to the treatment nurses receive in hospitals. Kenny said she thinks medical staff treatment and healthcare as a whole would change for the better if there was more understanding surrounding the job.

According to a 2021 Press Ganey Survey Report, two nurses per hour are assaulted in the acute care setting. Nurses are at high risk for these attacks due to their close proximity to patients, the American Nurses Association said in a statement on their website.

Between 2011 and 2013, there were 23,000 workplace assaults, with nearly 75% of them being in both healthcare and social service settings, according to the National Association of Social Workers.

Despite the recent issues within her aspiring profession, Plascencia-Galvan said she feels her drive for social work and helping others has only grown.

“It has made my passion for it much stronger,” she said. “Helping people out is always something I’ve been passionate about.”

As social workers are specifically charged to support society’s most vulnerable groups and address social determinants, the profession itself is still undervalued, under-resourced and underpaid, according to Milbank Memorial Fund.

Third-year social work and political science major Jazmin Garcia said she agrees and feels social work having a “non-professional” status will result in a lack of societal respect and understanding for the profession.

“Social work takes a very big emotional toll on you, and I don’t think people really understand that,” Garcia said. “With the Trump administration, I feel like people get easily pleased and then they don’t seek attention to the actual problems going on.”

Fourth-year nursing major Isabella Brunory said she agrees and considers one of the biggest challenges in nursing to be the emotional toll on nurses.

While the administration aims to reduce funding for graduate programs, Brunory said she doubts the effectiveness of reducing nursing degrees to “non-professional” status, considering the current lack of aid that comes from hospitals.

“There’s very few hospitals that actually pay a decent amount to help you go back to school,” Brunory said. 

Faculty at Loyola are beginning to look into ways to aid students with the implementation of Trump’s proposal, according to Findley.

Reform of programs, Findley said, is one way to help relieve students’ financial burdens.

“One idea is to move out classes to an intensive weekend program, so that students can go to school on a weekend every month over 3 years,” Findley said. “It means that it extends the payment period over 3 years.”

Besides program reform, both Deans said they’re looking to find scholarship donors and other ways to help students through their degrees.

“One of the things that we do for all of our nursing programs is that we work heavily with potential donors, so we do have donors that contribute scholarships,” Finnegan. “We will have to work hard to find more donors that would give scholarships.”

Despite the upcoming challenges, Woods hopes students continue to stay encouraged to pursue their future careers.

“Do your work, learn how to be a professional, learn skills that help you adapt,” Woods said. “Adaptation is going to be required more and more, and people will keep having to adapt, learn new skills and think critically in their careers.”