A new definition of “professional degree” limits loan access for accounting students and raises fresh alarms about equity, access, and pipeline.
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Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation
When the U.S. Department of Education released its negotiated language for implementing the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act’s graduate loan reforms, most accountants probably did not expect to see their field at the center of a political storm.
But in draft rules tied to the law, accounting master’s programs are not classified as “professional degree” programs for purposes of federal student loan caps.
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That classification matters. Under the new structure, beginning in July 2026, graduate students may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with a $100,000 lifetime cap, while “professional students” are allowed up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total. Medicine and law make the professional list. Accounting does not. Neither do nursing, education, architecture, social work, nor several other fields that traditionally are seen as high-skill professions.
In this episode of Accounting ARC, co-hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, unpack what that reclassification could mean for the accounting pipeline—and for how the profession sees itself.
Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, starts by zooming out. He notes that the Department of Education is leaning on a restrictive reading of “professional student,” rooted in language first developed in the 1960s and largely centered on law and medicine. By contrast, he points to U.S. Department of Labor regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which define “learned professional” work as requiring advanced, specialized knowledge in a field of science or learning. The regulatory text explicitly lists accounting among the traditional professions, alongside law, medicine, theology, engineering and architecture.
“On the labor side of federal rules, accounting is clearly recognized as a learned profession,” he explains. “So how do we reconcile that with an education policy that treats it like any other graduate field?”
Mason, CEO and founder of High Rock Accounting, approaches the term “professional” from the perspective of ordinary usage. To most people, she says, a profession means “somebody that has a degree, that has studied, become an expert, and is career-driven” in a specific field.
“When you see the federal government saying accounting isn’t a professional degree for borrowing,” she says, “it feels like it is saying the pursuit of higher education is not as valuable if you are not in law or medicine.”
The technical mechanics of the new loan caps are straightforward: graduate and professional students are no longer treated the same. Grad PLUS loans, which once allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, are eliminated. That change is meant to curb the rapid rise of costly master’s programs with questionable returns on investment. In practice, the hosts argue, the impact falls hardest on students without family wealth or employer sponsorship. Mason worries the lower caps for accounting will effectively reserve advanced degrees—and the opportunities they unlock—for students from more privileged backgrounds.
“Our profession already struggles with diversity,” she says. “If you limit loan access, you limit who can afford to get a master’s in accounting, and you limit who can compete for the highest-paying roles.”
National research backs at least part of that concern. Associations representing nursing, occupational therapy and other fields now designated as “graduate” rather than “professional” warn that the new caps will make it harder for students from underrepresented communities to enter or advance in their fields.
Patrick, co-founder and educator at TB Academy and senior product manager at Karbon, is frustrated by the underlying economics. He describes the current price of many graduate programs as “irrationally obscene” and argues that easy access to federal debt has enabled universities to raise tuition faster than inflation for years.
At the same time, he notes, “In the short term, real people get squeezed. If schools don’t cut prices quickly, fewer students are going to be able to make the math work.”
One of the liveliest exchanges in the episode centers on whether reduced access to master’s-level loans will meaningfully shrink the accounting pipeline. Shimamoto believes the impact may be smaller than headlines suggest. He points out that several states recently have moved to experiment with 120-hour licensure models and alternative pathways that do not require a fifth year of college, in part to address severe CPA pipeline challenges.
“I don’t think a master’s degree is required to have a successful career in accounting,” he says. “You don’t have to be a partner or CFO to make a good living.”
Mason agrees that success is possible without a graduate degree, but she emphasizes the difference between possible and probable. She cites persistent wage gaps and hiring preferences for candidates with advanced credentials, particularly in senior finance roles.
“I’m not saying you can’t make it without a master’s,” she says. “I’m saying your long-term earning potential and trajectory are often capped when you don’t have access to that level of education.”
Beyond the definitions and the debt math, all three hosts see a deeper structural issue: a higher-education system they describe as “broken.”
Shimamoto notes that the cost of sitting for the CPA exam has increased nearly sevenfold since the early 1990s, while tuition at many institutions has climbed far faster than wages. At the same time, the number of colleges and universities has grown, fueling competition for amenities, facilities and marketing budgets that do not directly improve instruction.
“If we want to fix something, it should be the affordability and design of higher education,” he says, “not redefining which degrees are ‘professional’ as a backdoor way to limit borrowing.”
Patrick is cautiously optimistic that the new caps could force some programs to rethink their price tags or delivery models, especially with the rise of remote and hybrid learning. But Mason remains skeptical that universities will move quickly, given entrenched bureaucracy and slow governance processes.
Outside the podcast studio, accounting organizations are already mobilizing. The AICPA, NASBA, and several state CPA societies have publicly objected to the proposal to exclude accounting from the “professional degree” category, warning that the move could further strain an already fragile talent pipeline.
The Department of Education, for its part, stresses that the negotiated language is not final and that it has not yet published a proposed or final rule on the definition of “professional student.”
For Mason, Patrick and Shimamoto, that uncertainty is precisely why individual accountants need to pay attention.
“When you see advocacy alerts from your professional associations, this is one of those times to respond,” Shimamoto says. “Contact your legislators. Explain why accounting belongs on that professional list.”
Mason adds a more cultural call to action. She encourages listeners to find “safe spaces” where they can debate these issues, disagree, and still “hug it out” afterward. In a political climate where higher education, student debt and workforce policy are all flashpoints, she argues, the profession needs places where complex topics can be discussed without fear.
“It all comes back to who we are as a profession,” she says. “Are we willing to show up, to have hard conversations, and to advocate for the next generation? Because they are the ones who will live with the consequences of these definitions.”
8 Key Takeaways
- New federal loan caps create a two-tier system. Graduate students are capped at $20,500 per year and $100,000 total, while students in narrowly defined “professional” programs can borrow up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total.
- Accounting is excluded from the “professional degree” tier. Despite being treated as a learned profession by the Department of Labor, accounting master’s programs are grouped with general graduate programs for loan purposes.
- Equity and access are central concerns. Lower loan caps may disproportionately affect students without family wealth, second-career entrants and underrepresented groups who rely on federal loans to pursue graduate accounting degrees.
- The pipeline debate is nuanced. Mason sees real risk to the graduate-educated pipeline and long-term earning potential, while Shimamoto believes alternative licensure pathways can mitigate some impact. Both agree the profession must watch the data closely.
- Higher education economics are under fire. The hosts agree that the underlying problem is the cost structure of higher education and professional credentials, not simply the availability of loans.
- The profession’s status matters symbolically and practically. Being excluded from “professional” status affects both the narrative about accounting and technical issues like wage-and-hour classifications and perceptions of professional standing.
- Advocacy is part of every accountant’s job. With groups like the AICPA and NASBA already objecting to the change, the hosts urge practitioners to respond to calls for comment and contact lawmakers.
- Healthy debate is essential. The episode models how professionals can disagree about solutions while remaining aligned on core values—especially the belief that accounting is a profession and should remain accessible to all who want to join it.