Nursing is a Professional Degree Act
Sponsored By: Senator Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced
Summary
Recognizes nursing as a federal 'professional degree'. This bill would add nursing to the Higher Education Act's enumerated list of professional degrees and create a clear statutory definition that ties professional degrees to licensure and a level of skill beyond a bachelor's degree.
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- Nursing students and graduates: Master's and doctoral nursing credentials such as MSN, DNP, DNAP, and Ph.D. in nursing would be explicitly listed as professional degrees in the law.
- Colleges and nursing programs: Nursing degrees would be named alongside law, medicine, and pharmacy in the statute, giving clearer statutory recognition for those programs.
- U.S. Department of Education: The Education Secretary would be authorized to designate other degrees that meet the new definition as professional degrees.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Nursing counted as professional degree
This bill would add a statutory definition of "professional degree" in the Higher Education Act. It would remove the current cross-reference to 34 C.F.R. § 668.2. It would define a professional degree as a program that shows completion of academic requirements for beginning professional practice and that requires more skill than a bachelor’s degree. It would expressly list degrees like Pharm.D., D.D.S./D.M.D., D.V.M., M.D., J.D., and nursing advanced degrees (MSN, DNP, DNAP, Ph.D.). It would let the Education Secretary add other degrees that meet the test. If enacted, this would change how some students’ programs are classified for federal student loan rules tied to Section 455.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
OR • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
MS • R
Sponsored 5/19/2026
Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
WY • R
Sponsored 5/19/2026
Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
AK • R
Sponsored 5/19/2026
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
ME • R
Sponsored 5/19/2026
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
RI • D
Sponsored 6/1/2026
Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]
PA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov