Clarifying the Professional versus Non-Professional Graduate Degree Programs Misinformation

Recent changes at the Education Department, resulting from the legislative overhaul of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are leading to the spread of misinformation, primarily in the debate surrounding professional and non-professional graduate degree programs. To help students understand the changes, the Financial Aid Office conducted a deep dive to explore what’s changing in this niche space of financial aid.

Let’s start with working definitions of professional and non-professional graduate degree programs. A professional degree is a specialized academic qualification designed to prepare students for a specific, practice-oriented career that is often licensed or otherwise regulated by a governing body. Professional degrees focus on practical outcomes, such as hands-on training and real-world applications. A non-professional degree is a qualification focused primarily on theory, research, and general intellectual exploration within a specific field of study. Unlike their professional degree counterparts, non-professional degree programs do not typically prepare students for an immediate career path after graduation.

Professional degree programs have key characteristics that distinguish them from non-professional degree programs. First, professional degree programs have a career-oriented focus, providing relevant skills and knowledge to enter and practice in a particular field. This degree program aims to prepare students to enter the career field associated with the degree program immediately after completing their academic studies.

Second, a professional degree program focuses on offering a robust curriculum that’s practical, incorporating coursework, internships, or residencies. These hands-on training experiences elevate students’ knowledge, ensuring they’re ready for their chosen career path by graduation. These hands-on training moments also prepare students for licensure down the road, which may be a core requirement to practice in the student’s degree program field. For example, law students must pass a state’s bar exam before they can practice law in that state.

Third, professional degree programs involve an advanced level of schooling that’s either at a master’s or doctoral level. Some professional degree programs even require additional schooling beyond a bachelor’s degree before admitting a student. Finally, since professional degree programs often focus on niche fields, they emphasize rigorous academic and practical coursework to ensure that all students who complete the program possess the knowledge necessary to excel in their field of expertise.

Common examples of professional degrees in the United States include the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Juris Doctor (J.D.), and Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.).

Non-professional degree programs also have key characteristics that make them more open-ended compared to a professional degree program. First, non-professional degree programs are more academically oriented, focusing on theory and research. Unlike professional degree programs that emphasize hands-on learning activities, non-professional degree programs focus on critical thinking and a liberal arts background to engage students with academic theory pursuits in a variety of courses.

Second, non-professional degree programs offer greater career flexibility, as professional degree programs often limit students’ exploration into niche fields, such as medicine or law. Depending on a student’s interest, it may be easier to move into academia or research with a non-professional degree than it is with a professional degree.

Third, the breadth of knowledge provided in a non-professional degree is significantly broader than that of a professional degree. As a result, non-professional degree programs offer a range of content areas for students to explore through theory and research. Finally, non-professional degree programs do not automatically qualify a student for a job in their field of study. Students may need to acquire additional skills or certifications long after they complete their studies.

At the graduate level, typical examples of non-professional degree programs include Master of Arts or Master of Science programs, as well as PhD programs. Although the job titles associated with non-professional degree programs may count as “professional” in the labor market (i.e., an accountant with an accounting degree), the degrees themselves do not constitute automatic licensure in the U.S. because of how the U.S. educational classification system classifies academic degree programs.

Professional degree programs have higher loan limits than non-professional degree programs. Recently, the Education Department announced that specific programs were not eligible for the expanded loan limits, which created consternation among graduate students enrolled in these ineligible programs. On a factual basis, many of the graduate programs that are no longer eligible for the professional degree program classification were never professional degree programs in the past. Therefore, those degree programs never qualified for the additional loan limits previously.

The crux of the issue lies with the elimination of the Graduate PLUS Loan program. Without this vital funding source, graduate students who are studying at high-priced graduate schools in non-professional degree programs do not have access to the same funding levels as their professional degree counterparts. Since non-professional degree programs were never eligible for the increased loan limits from the outset, students and schools should view the recent changes with a sense of nonchalance.

For students enrolled in non-professional degree programs with limited funding, they must carefully weigh their options. Selecting a credible school with a lower graduate tuition rate may be the most sensible option if out-of-pocket funding sources are scarce. Students who desire an expensive graduate program may need to seek private student loans or consider large out-of-pocket payments to the school they’re interested in attending. Speaking to a college or university’s bursar’s office is a wise move when contemplating payment options.

Students may also need to guard themselves from inadvertent misinformation. For example, carefully reviewing what qualifies as a professional degree program can save a student from heartache when an institution falsely claims that its master’s or doctoral degree programs qualify for increased loan funding levels. Unscrupulous actors in the graduate admissions marketing space at disreputable institutions of higher education may try to take advantage of a student’s naivete. When in doubt, consult with a financial aid professional at the school you’re considering before committing an expensive mistake.

Ultimately, the debate over what constitutes a professional versus a non-professional degree has been an ongoing issue for some time. It’s likely to continue well into the future. So, carefully research your graduate school options, educate yourself on the actual cost of attendance for a program you may have an interest in, and don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from a financial aid advisor if you don’t understand what your aggregate loan limits are for the graduate program you’re enrolling in.