Effective July 1, 2026, the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan limits are different for graduate and professional students. Before this, the limits were the same.

 Graduate students

• May borrow no more than $20,500 in a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan during an award year. This is the current limit, so it is not a change.
• May not borrow more than $100,000 in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans during their graduate school career (excludes amounts borrowed as an undergraduate student). This is a new limit.

Professional students

• May borrow no more than $50,000 in a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan during an award year. This is a new limit.
• May not borrow more than $200,000 in Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans during their graduate school career (includes borrowing as a graduate student and excludes amounts borrowed as an undergraduate student). This is a new limit. 

Since July 1, 2026 is in the middle of the Summer 2026 semester, these limits are in effect as of this semester.

The award year at JMU includes the summer, fall, and spring terms, in that order.

If your program is still considered a graduate program, then nothing has changed with your maximum annual Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. That figure remains $20,500. The award year at JMU includes the summer, fall, and spring terms, in that order. 

For example, the Nursing and Physician Assistant graduate programs do not meet the federal definition of a “professional” program. Students in those programs retain their current $20,500 annual eligibility for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. While they do not have access to the $50,000 annual limit for “professional” programs, they are not losing the eligibility they currently have.

This applies to all JMU graduate programs, except the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program, which meets the federal definition of a “professional” program.

JMU has one program designated as “professional” according to the definition established by the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) negotiated rulemaking committee. That is the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program.

 The RISE committee established the following programs as “professional” to be added under 34 CFR 685.102(b), and JMU only offers the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program.

• Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
• Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.)
• Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.)
• Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.)
• Law (L.L.B. or J.D.)
• Medicine (M.D.)
• Optometry (O.D.)
• Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
• Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.)
• Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.)
• Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.)

In addition to these specified programs, the committee agreed on language that could define other programs as professional. The full language is as follows.

"Professional student: A student enrolled in a program of study that awards a professional degree upon completion of the program;

(1) A professional degree is a degree that:

(i) Signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession, and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree;

(ii) Is generally at the doctoral level, and that requires at least six academic years of postsecondary education coursework for completion, including at least two years of post-baccalaureate level coursework;

(iii) Generally requires professional licensure to begin practice; and

(iv) Includes a four-digit program CIP code, as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, in the same intermediate group as the fields listed in paragraph (2)(i) of this definition.

(2) A professional degree may be awarded in the following fields:

(i) Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.), and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).

(3) A professional student under this definition:

(i) May not receive title IV aid as an undergraduate student for the same period of enrollment; and 

(ii) Must be enrolled in a program leading to a professional degree under paragraph (2) of this definition."

JMU does not have any additional programs in a qualifying CIP code group that meet this definition.

Unfortunately, no. The statute and subsequent regulations set the standard for defining a “professional” program. There are no avenues to have a program that does not meet those standards reclassified as “professional.”