May 19, 2026
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Lummis, Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
To amend the definition of professional student in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Nursing is a Professional Degree Act
.
Sec. 2. Professional student and professional degree defined
Section 455(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)(C)) is amended—
(1)
in clause (ii), by striking , as defined under section 668.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph),
; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(iii) Professional degree
In this paragraph, the term professional degree —
(I)
means a degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession (for which professional licensure is also commonly required), and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree; and
(II)
includes each of the following:
(aa)
Pharmacy (Pharm.D.).
(bb)
Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.).
(cc)
Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.).
(dd)
Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.).
(ee)
Law (L.L.B. or J.D.).
(ff)
Medicine (M.D.).
(gg)
Optometry (O.D.).
(hh)
Osteopathic Medicine or Osteopathy (D.O.).
(ii)
Podiatric Medicine or Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.).
(jj)
Theology or Theological Studies (M.Div. or M.H.L.).
(kk)
Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).
(ll)
Nursing (MSN, DNP, DNAP, or Ph.D).
(mm)
Any other degree that meets the requirements of subclause (I), as determined by the Secretary.