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Hundreds of thousands of students take out graduate school loans to pay for their advanced degrees. For these students, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will bring changes — and limits — to federal graduate student loan programs.
What are the new limits on graduate school loans?
Direct Unsubsidized Loans for graduate school taken out after July 1, 2026, will have annual and cumulative caps. The new limits for pre-professional programs (like law school and medical school) are $50,000 annually and $200,000 cumulatively. For other graduate programs, the limits are $20,500 annually and $100,000 overall. The lifetime maximum federal borrowing limit, which includes undergraduate and graduate education but excludes parent PLUS loans, is $257,500.
If you are enrolled less than full-time, your borrowing limits may be lower.
How will the new limits impact borrowers?
Already, private loan providers are reacting. Sallie Mae announced in March that it would be expanding graduate loan options for medical and dental students. The available loans will cover school certified costs and expand credit eligibility for qualified students.
“The new limits will likely put graduate school out of reach for many people,” says Kyra Taylor, a staff attorney who focuses on student loans at the National Consumer Law Center. “We know Pell grant recipients, or folks that came from low-income families, will be particularly hard hit, as will many students of color.
“That means that communities across the country will lose many talented professionals in high-demand professions, like doctors, nurses, teachers, principals, public interest attorneys, and more, in the coming years,” Taylor says.
What counts as a professional degree?
What program you enroll in will determine how much in federal loans you can borrow annually and over your lifetime.
The definition of a professional degree is new under this Trump administration. Now, there are restrictions on what degrees are considered professional. This will limit how much certain students can borrow for their program.
It is important to note that the limitations around what is designated as a professional degree do not affect undergraduate degree programs.
|
Cumulative borrowing capped at $100,000 |
Cumulative borrowing capped at $200,000 |
|---|---|
|
Nursing administration |
Medicine |
|
Education |
Law |
|
Special education teacher training |
Dentistry |
|
Social work |
Optometry |
|
Public policy |
Chiropractic |
|
Public health |
Osteopathic medicine |
|
Registered nursing |
Pharmacy |
|
Business administration |
Podiatry |
|
Alternative medicine |
Theology |
|
Rehabilitation and therapeutic professions |
Veterinary medicine |
The above table is not exhaustive and may not list all programs and/or their borrowing limits.
How else to pay for graduate school
The new graduate loan limits may not cover the complete cost of attendance at your university — this is particularly true for law and medical school students. However, there are other ways to pay for your graduate school including:
If you are considering taking out private loans, be sure to read the terms and requirements carefully.
“Some students may be able to secure private loans because they have good credit history or access to a co-signer that has sufficient wealth or income, but even then those loans will not offer the same protections or flexibilities as federal student loans,” Taylor says.
Graduate students and repayment plan changes
If you take out a new student loan after July 1, 2026, there will be limited repayment options.
-
Tiered Standard Repayment Plan: Payments are a fixed amount. Terms range from 10 to 25 years depending on how much you borrowed.
-
Repayment Assistance Program (RAP): Monthly payments are based on adjusted gross income and family size. Offers forgiveness after 30 years.
Keep in mind, Direct PLUS loans have fixed interest rates and a loan fee that is a percentage of the loan amount. The loan fee will be proportionately deducted from each of your loan disbursements. In order to take out a Direct PLUS loan, borrowers will need to go through a credit check.
Your loan servicer can help you determine which repayment plan is best for you.
What if I borrowed student loans before July 1, 2026?
If you took out a graduate PLUS loan prior to the changes taking effect July 1, 2026, you will not be bound to these new limits and will be able to borrow up to the cost of attendance — as long as you remain enrolled in the same program at the same institution.
Borrowers who will be enrolled in graduate programs on or before June 30, 2026, can still borrow grad PLUS loans for up to three years, or for the duration of your program.
Graduate students with loans who take out more after July 2026 will not have to borrow under the new loan limits, but they will have to follow the repayment changes.
If you consolidate your existing graduate PLUS loans before July 1, 2026, you will have access to the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plans. If you enroll in the ICR or PAYE plan, you will have to change plans after they terminate in July 2028.
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