As ASPPH had anticipated, last week the US Department of Education issued a rule that excludes public health degrees, including the MPH and DrPH, from the professional degree category, limiting access to federal financial aid and higher loan limits for public health students.
This proposed rule threatens to increase financial barriers, reduce enrollment, and further weaken an already strained public health workforce. The rule also excludes other essential fields, including nursing, social work, education, and additional health professions, raising broader concerns about workforce readiness across sectors critical to community well-being.
On the day the ruling was announced, ASPPH hosted a media briefing featuring academic public health deans and a student perspective to highlight the real-world consequences of this proposal for students, institutions, and the nation’s capacity to respond to public health threats.
During the briefing, ASPPH President and CEO Dr. Laura Magaña emphasized that while the proposed change may appear technical, “the consequences are anything but technical,” noting that excluding public health degrees is “shortsighted and carries real risks for the health, safety, and resilience of the nation.” She further stressed that “public health degrees are not academic abstractions. They are accredited, practice-focused professional degrees that prepare people to protect communities and save lives.”
Speakers highlighted that removing professional degree status would immediately affect affordability, deter prospective students, and narrow the pipeline at a time of historic workforce shortages. As Dr. Magaña stated, “This is not a debate about terminology. It is a decision about whether this country will continue to invest in the people who prevent crises before they become catastrophes.”
ASPPH remains firmly committed to opposing this rule and will submit formal comments by the March 2, 2026, deadline, urging the Department to revise the definition to reflect accredited, practice-focused professional training pathways.
We strongly encourage our members to also submit comments, and once ready, they can use ASPPH’s submission as a reference, which will be shared with Deans and Program Directors later this month.