President Donald Trump and his administration will begin imposing new limits for federal student loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026.
Undergraduate borrowers will have the same current limit of up to $7,500 a year for dependent students, depending on their class year. But graduate and professional students will see new limits of up to $20,500 per year ($100,000 total) for graduate studies and $50,000 a year ($200,000 total) for professional programs.
Graduate PLUS loans, which previously allowed students to borrow up to their total cost of attendance, will be eliminated.
According to the proposed regulation, a professional degree “signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree.”
The Department of Education has named 11 degree fields that meet the requirements to be considered professional, and thus eligible for higher loan limits under the new rules:
