These Grad School Programs Could Be Most Impacted by ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Borrowing Limits
Credit: Coolpicture / Moment / Getty Images- Congress recently set new borrowing limits for undergraduate and graduate students.
- At the graduate level, students pursuing professional degrees in medicine and dentistry will feel an impact.
- An estimated 1 in 4 master of social work students would also be affected.
- Some industries, including teaching, are more shielded from the new annual borrowing limit.
The recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill sets new limits on the amount graduate students can borrow in federal student loans, which could impact some degree programs more than others.
According to new research from the Urban Institute, more than half of students in doctor of psychology or dentistry programs borrowed more than the new annual limit in recent years. Overall, more than 1 in 4 graduate students who took out student loans are estimated to borrow above the massive spending package’s new annual limit, which goes into effect in July 2026.
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The bill sets a $20,500 annual borrowing limit for graduate students and a $50,000 annual limit for professional students, including medicine and law. Graduate students will have a lifetime borrowing limit of $100,000, while the aggregate limit for professional students is $200,000.
The Urban Institute’s research suggests that the One Big Beautiful Bill’s impact will not be felt equally across various fields of study.
“I find the largest share of students affected will likely be in dentistry programs,” Jason Cohn, research associate at the Urban Institute, wrote in his analysis.
“An estimated 56% of full-time dentistry students borrowed above the new annual limit of $50,000 in 2019-20, and 58% of dentistry students who completed their degree that year had cumulative debt greater than the new aggregate limit of $200,000.”
Here are other degree programs where graduate school borrowing limits are estimated to impact at least 1 in 5 students:
Impact of One Big Beautiful Bill on Graduate Borrowing
| Degree Program | Share of Graduate Students Who Borrowed More Than Annual Limit | Share of Graduate Students Who Borrowed More Than Aggregate Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Master of social work | 24% | Not available |
| Master of fine arts | 26% | Not available |
| Master of public health | 29% | 20% |
| Doctor of psychology | 51% | Not available |
| “Other” doctoral degree | 33% | 25% |
| Law, professional degree | 20% | Not available |
| Medicine or osteopathic medicine, professional degree | 41% | 26% |
| Dentistry, professional degree | 56% | 58% |
| Optometry, professional degree | 22% | Not available |
| Veterinary medicine, professional degree | 26% | 27% |
Interested in graduate programs less likely to be impacted by the Big Beautiful Bill borrowing limits? Read more:
The correlation between Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients is complicated.
Unsurprisingly, the overall share of Pell Grant recipients who would borrow more annually than the new limits (17%) was higher than that of nonrecipients (10%). However, among the share of graduate students who took out student loans, a higher proportion of nonrecipients (30%) would be impacted than Pell Grant recipients (26%).
Among the programs least likely to be affected by the new loan limits are:
- Doctor of philosophy (3% of graduate students borrowed more than annual limit)
- Master of business administration (8%)
- Master of education or teaching (9%)
Proponents of the One Big Beautiful Bill contend that setting borrowing limits will force colleges and universities to lower the cost of pricey graduate-level programs. Opponents of the bill claim this rule will push students toward riskier private student loans once they cap out on federal student loan borrowing.
The Urban Institute used data from the 2020 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study to make its estimates.