Trump Administration is Attacking Women-Dominated Professions
- mgedelman
- 37 minutes ago
- 7 min read
By: Miriam Edelman
The Trump Administration’s Department of Education (DOE) recently excluded from its classification of “professional” degrees, nursing, social work, and other fields in which women predominate. Women’s eNews reported:
“The Administration’s recent proposal to remove professional recognition from several degrees is an assault on women in the workforce. Most of the targeted fields are predominantly led and staffed by women. The devaluation of women-led professions in this country is a problem and an extension of an ongoing opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
“While these fields are not exclusively made up of women, women represent the overwhelming majority of the workforce in many of them. As a result, the consequences of this reclassification fall disproportionately on women, and that pattern is too consistent to dismiss as coincidence. A clear pattern is emerging, where the voices of women are being silenced and their contribution to society ‘reclassified.’”
Current and future students in non-professional-degree professions may likely receive less reimbursement for their graduate programs. Decreased money could cause students to have challenges covering costs and could also deter individuals from entering these necessary careers, most likely exacerbating the U.S.’s current shortages of nurses and social workers.
President Trump’s Budget Bill
President Donald Trump’s budget bill, signed in July 2025, created the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) to replace other initiatives, including the Grad PLUS program that lets graduate students borrow up to their attendance costs. New students will no longer have access to this financial aid. Under RAP, beginning on July 1, 2026, graduate students will be able to borrow up to $20,500 per year and up to $100,000 total; professional students’ limits will be $50,000 per year and $200,000 total.
The budget law defined professional degrees with a regulation that was in effect when the bill became law. That rule defines a professional degree to include, but not be limited to:
“Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.).”
Negotiated Rulemaking Process
On October 30, 2025, the Patient Access to Responsible Care Alliance (PARCA) sent a letter to the DOE and Members of the Reimagining and Improving Student Education Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (RISENRC). The RISENRC discussed the student loan parts of the budget law. PARCA recommended:
“Adopt a clear and inclusive regulatory definition of ‘professional degree program’ that encompasses any master's or doctoral degree generally required for licensure and/or certification in health professions. We recommend that such a definition utilize Classification of Instructional Programs codes that encompass any such health professional program.”
“Such definition must maintain alignment with state and federally recognized licensure- and/or certification-based credentialing pathways when required. All health professions where a state license or certificate to practice is generally required should be treated consistently with other health professions in all relevant student aid regulations.”
The RISENRC’s negotiated rulemaking session from November 3 through 7 defined Professional degree and Professional student. RISENRC rejected PARCA’s recommendations, defining Professional degree as:
“[A] degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree, where professional licensure is also generally required, and includes the following degrees: Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.).”
Department of Education’s Proposed Definition
On November 6th, the DOE issued a press release about the conclusion of negotiated rulemaking. According to the release, the DOE will create a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and have a notice and public comment. On the same day, Inside Higher Ed reported that to qualify as “profession” in the latest DOE proposal, a degree program is required to:
- “Signify that students have the skills to begin practice in a particular profession
- Require a level of skill beyond that of a bachelor’s degree
- Be a doctoral level degree (with the exception of a Master’s in Divinity)
- Require at least six years of academic instruction (at least two of which are post-baccalaurette) [sic]
- Involve a profession that requires licensure
- Be included in the same four-digit CIP code as one of 11 professions explicitly mentioned in the regulation”
The requirement for doctoral level degrees eliminates most master degrees except for Master’s in Divinity.
Impact on Women
Reportedly, the DOE’s proposed new definition of professional degree excludes programs in nursing, physician assistants, physical therapy, audiology, architecture, accounting, education, social work, and more.
Women dominate some of the excluded fields. Zippia reported that in the United States:
- Audiologists – Currently, 76.8 percent of audiologists are female, and since at least 2010, 65 percent of audiologists have been female.
- Nurses – Currently, 86 percent of nurses are female, and since at least 2010, over 80 percent of nurses have been female.
- Physical Therapists – Currently, 63.7 percent of physical therapists are women, and since at least 2010, over 62 percent of physical therapists are women.
- Physician Assistants – Currently, 66.4 percent of physician assistants are women, and since at least 2010, over 60 percent of physician assistants are women.
- Social Workers – Currently, 80.5 percent of social workers are women, and since at least 2010, over 75 percent of social workers have been women.
- Speech Pathologists – Currently, 88.1 percent of speech pathologists are women, and since at least 2010, over 85 percent of speech pathologists have been women.
The following bar graph shows the current percent of women in those fields.
Administration’s Defense
On November 24, 2025, the DOE issued a press release, entitled “Myth vs. Fact: The Definition of Professional Degrees.” The press release focused on nursing, but some of its points could apply to other excluded professions. It described the rationale for the change in student loans, claiming that the costs of graduate degrees would decline. It also claimed that the definition is not a judgement of value and said that the definition simply determines who will have access to higher borrowing limits.
Responses
Some organizations representing these professions view the new definition of professional degree as a major threat to the fields:
“Addressing the implementation of H.R. 1, the letter calls for an inclusive definition of ‘professional degree program’ for purposes of federal student loan limits. The unintended consequences of excluding certain health professions from the definition could lead to lower loan limits for students in those programs, discouraging enrollment and worsening provider shortages. Without a clear and inclusive definition, federal regulations could inadvertently favor certain health professions over others, creating inequities in access to financial aid. This imbalance could reduce patient access and choice, particularly in rural and underserved communities.”
- American Organization for Nursing Leadership:
“Recognizing post-baccalaureate nursing education as a professional degree is critical to building a stronger health care workforce and preparing the next generation of nurses to meet the nation’s needs. This designation affirms the vital role of advanced nursing education in all areas of nursing practice – clinical care delivery, academia and leadership. Without advanced nursing education funding, there is even greater risk of workforce shortages in an already strained environment as there will be fewer nurses entering and advancing within the profession. “
“With many advanced degree-seeking nursing students carrying significant loan debt, ensuring they receive the same recognition and resources as peers in other health disciplines is essential to a sustainable future for nursing. Failing to recognize nursing as a professional degree will severely restrict access to funding for graduate nursing education, undermining efforts to grow and sustain the nursing workforce.”
- Council on Social Work Education:
“CSWE joined with the Federation of Associations of Schools of Health Professions (FASHP) in urging ED to use CIP Code 51 (Health Professions and Related Programs) and related codes as a guide for determining professional degree eligibility. Not only are the professions represented as part of the CIP code critical to our nation’s health and wellbeing, but they also largely align with ED’s original framework. Using these CIP codes would help prevent unjustified distinctions (such as those based on program length) and those not reflective of the rigor or value of a given health profession.”
“Excluding social work from professional degree eligibility, combined with the OBBBA’s proposed elimination of Graduate PLUS loans, could make it more difficult for students to pursue graduate education in critical service professions. Preliminary data suggest that 370,000 students could be affected by the new definition and more than $8 billion in federal loans will no longer be available for student access (roughly 22 percent of annual federal loan disbursements).”
“Social workers provide the majority of mental and behavioral health services in the US and play a key role in providing critical support for children, the elderly, veterans, and other vulnerable populations across the country. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for social workers is expected to continue growing over the next decade, even as many communities already face workforce shortages. Ensuring access to affordable graduate education is therefore essential to maintaining a strong and sustainable social work workforce.”
What People Can Do
People can take action by:
- Educating their network on the new definition of professional student.
- Contacting their Members of Congress, who can hold hearings, write to the Education Department opposing the new definition, and do more. – Already, on December 12, a “bipartisan and bicameral group of more than 140 Members of Congress” wrote a letter to the DOE regarding the omission of post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the “professional degree” definition.
- (Social workers and people who want to be social workers) signing the petition of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The petition says:
“We, the undersigned, are writing to express our concern regarding the Department of Education’s proposed definition of ‘professional degree’ programs, which excludes a plethora of professions including social work. During the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Congress used a definition for professional programs that had a limited list of professional degrees, but the definition states that the professional degrees listed include but are not limited to those that can be considered professional degrees.”
“As one of the fastest growing professions, social work is expected to have more than 800,000 trained professionals by 2033 but will only reach that goal with full access to student loans so all who are called to the profession are able to go to school and eventually be the social worker their communities need.”
“We call on the Department of Education to expand the proposed definition of ‘professional degrees’ to include social work.”
- Writing and submitting comments on proposed rules when the DOE published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register.
Conclusion
The definition of a professional degree should be inclusive. Harm to women and others must be avoided. It is not too late to reverse course, as the public will have the opportunity to submit comments.
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