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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.
To pay for graduate school, students can take out private or federal loans for their professional training, in addition to grants and savings.
Historically, graduate students could borrow federal loans up to the full cost of attendance — including tuition, fees, and room and board. Now, the federal graduate PLUS loan program is ending as we’ve known it for new borrowers, and Direct Unsubsidized Loans for graduate school will be capped depending on what degree program you choose.
According to a February 2026 survey from College Ave, a private student loan lender, 60% of graduate students are unaware of these upcoming changes to federal loans. The survey found that 55% of graduate students are unsure what their graduate program will eventually cost, and of those who plan to take out loans for graduate school, 34% don’t know how much they will need to borrow.
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?
The new graduate student loan limit will likely not cover the entire cost of your program. You will have to make up the remainder with grants, scholarships, savings or private loans. If you decide to take out private loans, be sure to fully understand the repayment requirements.
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.
A March 2026 report from Protect Borrowers and The Century Foundation found that 40% of Americans would likely not qualify for the majority of private student loans.
“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.
» MORE: Best loans for graduate students
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.
According to the Department of Education, a professional degree is now considered one requiring the completion of a program that meets specific criteria, such as the academic requirements to begin the practice of a profession.
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:
- Grants.
- Work study as a teaching assistant or similar.
- Savings and investments.
- Private loans.
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.
According to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Finance Institute, of more than 60,000 students who started graduate school between 2015-2024, 28% of those students who borrowed loans surpassed the newly imposed limit. And of those borrowers, 38% had a low credit score or no credit score, making them ineligible for private loans without a co-signer.
Graduate students and repayment plan changes
If you take out a new student loan after July 1, 2026, there will be limited repayment options.
Repayment options for graduate student borrowers after July 1, 2026, are:
- 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.
Current graduate PLUS borrowers will not be affected by repayment changes unless they take out new loans. The only change they might face is if they were enrolled in the SAVE plan, which has ended.
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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- 1. College Ave. 60% of Prospective Grad Students Unaware of the Upcoming Federal Student Loan Changes, New College Ave Survey Finds. Accessed Apr 6, 2026.
- 2. Protect Borrowers and The Century Foundation. Access Denied.
- 3. Congress.gov. The Department of Education’s Proposed Rule to Define “Professional Student”: Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed Apr 2, 2026.
- 4. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Finance Institute. Student Loans for Graduate School: Who Will Be Affected by the New Federal Lending Limits?. Accessed Apr 1, 2026.
