The Department of Education, on Friday, June 10, issued an update to its previously announced temporarily expanded list of professional degree programs.
The Department announced that the six-digit CIP codes for Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (MSN) (51.3801) and Nursing Practice (DNP) (51.3818) will now be interpreted to include all programs within the same four-digit CIP code, provided the institution has assigned the code (or the Secretary determines it is appropriate) and the program awards the same credential.
In addition, the Department clarified that Clinical Psychology (42.2801) now explicitly includes Ph.D. programs, correcting an inadvertent omission from the original list.
The Department’s June 29 announcement included core allied health programming, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech language pathology, and athletic training, among a temporarily expanded list of programs that will qualify as professional degrees while ongoing litigation proceeds, making more students eligible for higher loan limits while the underlying litigation is resolved.
The update may be accessed here.