The U.S. Department of Education is proposing to omit education programs from its definition of “professional degrees,” a change that would restrict graduate loan limits for many teacher-preparation and education doctoral students. The negotiating committee’s draft would reserve higher federal graduate loan caps—up to $200,000—for fields like medicine, law and dentistry, while most other graduate borrowers would be capped at $100,000, with annual limits applying beginning July 2026. The department said the definition will be open to public comment when it issues a proposed rule early next year; advocates warn the move could tighten the pipeline into K–12 teaching and shift costs onto students and states.