a new definition of “professional degree” limits loan access for accounting students and raises fresh alarms about equity, access, and pipeline. 

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accounting arc
with liz mason, byron patrick, and donny shimamoto
center for accounting transformation

when the u.s. department of education released its negotiated language for implementing the “one big beautiful bill” act’s graduate loan reforms, most accountants probably did not expect to see their field at the center of a political storm. 

but in draft rules tied to the law, accounting master’s programs are not classified as “professional degree” programs for purposes of federal student loan caps.  

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that classification matters. under the new structure, beginning in july 2026, graduate students may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with a $100,000 lifetime cap, while “professional students” are allowed up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total. medicine and law make the professional list. accounting does not. neither do nursing, education, architecture, social work, nor several other fields that traditionally are seen as high-skill professions. 

in this episode of accounting arc, co-hosts liz mason, cpa; byron patrick, cpa.citp; and donny shimamoto, cpa.citp, cgma, unpack what that reclassification could mean for the accounting pipeline—and for how the profession sees itself. 

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