Thousands of Women Entering Careers that No Longer Qualify as “Professional Degrees” Under New Federal Rules

Under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), several existing federal loan programs will be eliminated or restricted. Grad PLUS loans—previously used by graduate and professional students to cover high educational costs—will be scrapped entirely, and Parent PLUS loans will face new limits.

RAP introduces strict annual borrowing caps: $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. Because of this, the federal government’s new definition of what counts as a “professional degree” is now crucial — it determines who can borrow up to $50,000 and who will be restricted to the lower graduate cap.

The U.S. Department of Education announced that degrees in fields such as nursing, physical therapy, physician assistant programs and social work will no longer be classified as “professional degrees” under the One Big Beautiful Bill proposed by the Donald Trump administration — a move that disproportionately affects women, who hold majorities in many of these professions. Degree classification now directly impacts how much financial support students can receive, and many women-dominated fields (nursing, social work, education, therapy, public health, etc.) are being placed in the lower-funded “non-professional” category.

Under the new rules, only certain fields (such as medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry) will qualify as “professional” degrees — eligible for higher federal student-loan limits and other benefits. 

The implications that these changes have on gender equality in the workplace are significant. For example, women comprise about 88 % of the U.S. registered-nurse workforce, 90% of social workers, and 77% of public school teachers. 

The American Nurses Association described the policy as “a recipe for a public-health disaster.” Analysts warn the change could reduce incentives for students to enter or advance in these fields — potentially worsening shortages in health care, social work and education, among other sectors dominated by women. The timing comes amid broader labor-market shifts and ongoing gender gaps in professional advancement.