Funding Your Graduate Study

Federal legislation passed in July 2025 has significantly changed the loans available for graduate education. The new legislation took effect on July 1, 2026, and thus affects students who begin their graduate education after September 2026. 

1. Graduate students in a non-professional program

• The limit for a U.S. federal loan for graduate students in non-professional programs is $20,500 per year.
• The aggregate or lifetime limit is $100,000.
• This limit does not include loans borrowed for undergraduate education.

2. Graduate students in a professional program

• The limit for professional students (e.g., medicine, law) is $50,000 per year.
• The aggregate or lifetime limit is $200,000.
• This limit does not include loans borrowed for undergraduate education 

3. The Department of Education has published a list of graduate degree programs that qualify as “professional” programs and are, therefore, eligible for the loan cap for professional students. Check to see if your program is on the Updated List of Professional Degree Programs.

As a result of a federal court order, this list was updated on July 10, 2026. The court ruled that the Education Department did not have the authority to modify the definition established by Congress in the bill that put the loan cap in place. The Education Department is challenging the ruling. In the interim, the Updated List will remain in effect.

4. Borrowers who are both graduate and professional students at different points in their academic careers can borrow up to $200,000 total for their graduate and professional studies.

5. The Grad PLUS loan program, which previously allowed graduate students to borrow up to their school’s cost of attendance (minus other financial aid), was eliminated for new borrowers on July 1, 2026. 

• Graduate students who were already enrolled and who borrowed Grad PLUS loans before July 1, 2026, are able to continue borrowing under previous limits – up to 3 academic years or the remainder of their program, whichever is less.

6. The new rules for funding are tied to the date that you begin graduate school and not to the date that you’re admitted. Thus, if you are admitted in March 2026 and you take out a loan in April 2026 to pay for graduate school beginning in September 2026, you will be covered by the new funding rules.

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Financial aid professionals and others who are involved in providing graduate school funding expect that private lenders (i.e., retail banks and others) will make funds available to help support graduate school education. We will know more in the coming months as private lenders step into this space.  

Graduate schools are currently looking at their funding to figure out how the new rules are going to affect their programs. They will be assessing the situation at the same time as you’re applying, and so they may not have immediate answers to your questions. Please be patient when contacting them for information.