US Graduate Student Loan Limits 2026: Which 11 Degrees are Eligible for New $200,000 Cap?

New US graduate student loan limit 2026: If you want to get a professional degree in the US, you should know that big changes are coming that could have a major impact on your budget. Many borrowers have huge amounts of US student loan debt because the cost of higher education, especially professional and doctoral programs, is going up. The US Department of Education is going to make new federal student loan rules that cover everything. They will start being used on July 1, 2026.

This big change in the rules is meant to change who can get the most federal aid and set new limits on how much money people can borrow. Crucially, this initiative sets a maximum aggregate federal borrowing limit in 2026 for graduate students and removes the widely used Graduate PLUS loans. However, for a select list of 11 professional degrees deemed necessary for licensure, students will be eligible for a much higher limit to cover the extensive training required.

What are the Major Changes to US Graduate Student Loan Limits set for 2026?

The proposed regulation, put forth by the Trump administration’s Department of Education, introduces a tiered system for federal loan eligibility, fundamentally altering how graduate and professional students can finance their studies. The two major changes effective from July 1, 2026, are:

1. Discontinuation of Graduate PLUS Loans

This popular loan program, which currently allows students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance (minus other aid), will be eliminated.

2. Implementation of Hard Caps 

New annual and aggregate limits are being imposed based on the type of program:

These defined limits are an effort to curb over-borrowing by students and simultaneously pressure universities to restrain tuition fee increases, as the maximum amount students can access through federal loans is now capped.

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List of 11 Professional Degrees Eligible for the $200,000 Federal Borrowing Limit 2026

The US Department of Education has established a definition for a 'professional degree'—one that signifies the completion of academic requirements to begin practice in a given profession and demonstrates professional skill beyond a bachelor's degree.

Using this definition, the Department has automatically classified 11 professional degrees that qualify for the higher $200,000 professional degree loan cap. These fields typically require extensive, often doctoral-level, training leading to professional licensure.

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The new federal student loan rules in the USA will go into effect in 2026. This is a historic change that aims to lower student debt and encourage US universities to keep tuition costs down. The $200,000 limit on professional degree loans gives students entering the 11 fields a sense of security, but the fact that Graduate PLUS loans are no longer available means that all potential graduate students and schools must carefully re-evaluate how affordable and how to pay for a professional education in the US.