Court pauses Education Department regulations limiting ‘professional’ degrees
Ben Unglesbee
June 25, 2026
The agency released widely contested regulations this spring to block access to higher borrowing limits for many graduate students.
A federal court on Wednesday temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Education from applying new regulations significantly restricting which graduate degrees count as “professional.”
The designation allows students pursuing such degrees to take out up to $200,000 in federal student loans — double the amount permitted for other graduate programs.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the Education Department’s definition of professional degrees, which it released in April, is likely inconsistent with the definition that Congress included when creating the caps last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Howell also said the department’s rulemaking process likely violated the Administrative Procedures Act.
