One-Pager: Federal Graduate Student Loan Changes Impacting MFTs

Federal Graduate Student Loan Changes Impacting MFTs

There are upcoming changes to the federal student loan program that will impact MFTs seeking such loans starting on July 1, 2026. Federal legislation signed into law in July, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), makes many significant changes impacting graduate and undergraduate students who need federal student loans. For MFTs and many other healthcare professionals, the most significant impact is a proposed rule interpreting this new law from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that would cap federal graduate student loans for MFT students at $20,500 per year.

Loan Limits Impacting MFTs and Other Healthcare Professionals

Beginning on July 1, 2026, new borrowing caps for federal graduate student loans will take effect. For all students enrolled in a post-baccalaureate health professions program, the new law caps annual loans for a new borrower who is a “professional student” at $50,000 per year, but caps annual loans for a new borrower who is a “graduate student” at $20,500 per year.

The proposed rule divides all post-baccalaureate students into two groups:

Professional Students: A “professional student” is eligible to borrow up to $50,000 per year. However, a professional student only includes those students earning a “professional degree.” The proposed rule defines “professional degree” as a degree obtained only from one of the following 11 professions: Pharmacy, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Chiropractic, Law, Medicine, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Podiatry, Theology, and Clinical Psychology.

Graduate Students: A “graduate student” is eligible to only borrow up to $20,500 per year. Since Marriage and Family Therapy is not listed as one of the 11 professions the proposed rule considers a profession offering a “professional degree,” MFT students would be considered graduate students under this proposed rule. Many other professions, including Clinical Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy, would also not be defined as offering a professional degree under this proposed rule.

Impact of the Proposed Rule

AAMFT strongly opposes the exclusion of the Marriage and Family Therapy degree from the “professional degree” definition in the proposed rule. If this proposed rule goes into effect in July 2026, it will have a significant impact on the overall number of students entering the MFT profession. The lower borrowing limits will discourage potential students from enrolling as a student in an MFT program, with the most significant impact on those from rural, underserved, and marginalized communities. This restriction will force many MFT students to obtain loans from private lenders, who will charge a higher interest rate for borrowers. This change will also have a disproportionate impact on women, who make up the overwhelming majority of students who would be defined as graduate students under this proposed rule. Since this proposed rule would result in fewer MFTs, this change will ultimately reduce access to MFTs and other healthcare professionals.

Please click here for a more detailed summary by AAMFT of the most significant changes pertaining to graduate student loans.

How Can I Advocate for Clients, MFT Students, and the MFT Profession?

Over the next few weeks, you can participate in advocating for the inclusion of MFTs as professional students in three ways:

Completing AAMFT’s brief survey to share how student loans supported your pathway to becoming an MFT.
Telling Congress to protect federal student loans for MFTs and other healthcare providers: Send this prewritten grassroots message to your Representative and Senators, urging them to take action on this important issue. Your family, friends, and colleagues can also use that link to send this message to Congress.
When the public comment period opens on this proposed rule, submitting comments to ED emphasizing the need for behavioral health providers to be included in the definition of “professional degree”.

Additional Information: