PRIA Logo™
119-hr-6739119th CongressWALLET

Clarity in Professional Degree Act

Sponsored By: Representative Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]

Introduced

Summary

Protects students' access to federal Title IV student aid by clarifying that many health, education, and other graduate programs are "professional degrees." This bill would change the Higher Education Act's definition so a specific set of degrees are explicitly treated as professional degrees for federal aid purposes.

Show full summary
  • Students and people with disabilities: Students in the named programs would be explicitly included under the "professional degree" definition for Title IV federal student aid. The bill responds to findings that a department reclassification could otherwise threaten aid for these students.
  • Health, education, and public service workforce: By naming nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, public health, and several teaching and language degrees, the bill aims to prevent worsening shortages in fields the findings call foundational to keeping the nation safe, educated, and healthy.
  • Law change and scope: The bill would remove a regulatory cross reference and add ten named degrees to the statute, including nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, accounting, architecture, special and secondary education, music education, world languages, and public health.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Adds more professional degrees for students

If enacted, this bill would add several specific degrees to the federal legal definition of "professional degree." The change would take effect upon enactment. The listed degrees are: Nursing (A.D.N., R.N., or B.S.N.); Occupational Therapy (M.O.T.); Physical Therapy (D.P.T.); Social Work (M.S.W.); Accounting (MAcc); Architecture (M.Arch.); Special and Secondary Education (M.Ed., M.S.Ed., or M.A.T.); Music Education (M.S. or M.M.E.); World Languages (M.Ed.); and Public Health (M.P.H.). This would change how students in those programs are classified under federal higher education rules and could affect their treatment for Title IV federal student aid if the Department of Education applies the revised definition.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]

MI • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 9/10/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation