Posted 16 December, 2025
You may have seen headlines on the news or social media sites about the U.S. Department of Education changing what is considered a professional degree. What does this actually mean? And does it affect students at UNI?
With much of the conversation centered around financial aid and loan eligibility, UNI Director of Financial Aid Tim Bakula helped us break down what’s really going on:
What is considered a “professional degree”?
A professional degree, according to the Department of Education, is an internal definition used to identify programs that qualify for higher loan limits. It is not a measure of value or importance, and has no bearing on whether a program is “professional” in nature. All UNI academic programs - both undergraduate and graduate - will continue to offer the same excellent outcomes for our students pursuing their degrees.
What exactly is the U.S. Department of Education proposing?
A large federal bill recently updated several parts of the student loan system. One change receiving the most attention involves “professional degree” designations for loan limit purposes.
The “professional degree” terminology has existed since the passage of the Higher Education Act of 1965, but updated rules would determine how much loan eligibility is available to students.
Most importantly, for UNI, all graduate degrees will continue to have the same annual federal loan limits as they do now, $20,500 per year. Undergraduate students would also continue to have the same annual federal loan limits available as in the past.