Trump administration expands list of graduate degrees subject to higher borrowing limits

Alvaro Gonzalez | Moment | Getty Images Some graduate students will be able to borrow more in federal student loans than previously expected after a recent court order . Under President Donald Trump 's "one big beautiful bill act," starting July 1 , new graduate students will be subject to an annual federal student loan cap of $20,500 a year, while so-called professional students can take out up to $50,000. But a federal judge in Washington froze last week the U.S. Department of Education's definition of a "professional degree," Judge Beryl A. Howell, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that the agency, during its regulatory process, had narrowed the scope of those degrees beyond what Congress intended. "This latest federal ruling changes the picture quite a bit," said Kathleen Boyd, a CFP and founder of Student Loan Savvy in San Diego, because it "opens the door for more graduate programs to qualify for the higher annual federal loan limits." Here's what students need to know about the borrowing cap changes. Expanded list of 'professional degrees' While it worked to implement the OBBBA changes, the Education Department narrowed the definition of a professional degree from the government's longstanding interpretation of the word, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. In the end, the Trump administration identified just 11 degrees , including medicine, dentistry and theology, that fit under the label. …