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Public Health Is a Professional Degree

ASPPH is leading national advocacy to ensure that public health degrees remain recognized and supported as professional degrees under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The Department of Education’s proposed OBBBA definition of “professional degrees” excludes public health degrees like the MPH and DrPH, threatening access to federal loans and weakening the public health workforce.
Tell your Senators and Representative about the devastating consequences of the Department’s proposal and urge Congress to act now, by clicking the button below.

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The US Department of Education’s (ED) Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee advanced a proposed definition of “professional degree programs” under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that excludes public health degrees, including the MPH and DrPH, along with several other health professions programs. This change could restrict access to federal loan support and weaken the pipeline of practitioners our communities rely on.

At a time of growing threats to public health, failing to recognize these degrees as professional credentials is both short-sighted and dangerous.

Why This Matters

Excluding public health degrees from the “professional degree” category would:

Limit access to federal financial aid and higher loan limits for public health students.

Increase financial barriers for students from diverse and historically excluded communities.

Reduce program accessibility and enrollment, especially at institutions serving rural and underserved regions.

Weaken the public health workforce pipeline, undermining the nation’s ability to prepare professionals who protect and promote community health.

These impacts run counter to decades of precedent recognizing public health degrees as professional credentials essential to health protection and health equity.

ASPPH’s Advocacy and Coalition Work

ASPPH is coordinating a robust response in partnership with health professions, education programs, and professional associations. Our efforts include:

  • Coalition leadership: ASPPH recently co-led a broad coalition letter to the Department of Education’s RISE Committee ahead of its second negotiated rulemaking session on the “professional degree” definition. We also joined a FASHP coalition letter on OBBBA implementation.
  • Public comment letter: We have submitted and supported the following letter:
    • ASPPH’s September comment letter outlining concerns about the initial implementation proposal.
  • Substantive policy recommendations: Our coalitions are urging ED to:
    • Classify all programs under Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code 51, Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, as professional degrees.
    • Define “professional degree” based on credentials required for entry into practice and alignment with accreditation standards, rather than credit hours or program length.
  • Ongoing federal engagement: ASPPH is in regular communication with key congressional committees of jurisdiction to highlight the implications of the proposal for public health education and workforce readiness.
  • Preparing for the next rulemaking stage: The Department of Education is expected to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), in January, triggering a 30-day public comment period. ASPPH will again submit formal comments and will share templates and guidance to support our members’ submissions.

How ASPPH Members and Partners Can Take Action

ASPPH members and partners can help protect public health degrees by:

Engaging Policymakers

  • Work with your university’s Government Relations team to contact your institution’s US Representatives and Senators and raise concerns about the proposal.
  • Use ASPPH’s talking points and congressional “asks” to support these conversations and emphasize the real-world impacts on students and communities.

Elevating the Impact on Students and Communities

Sharing Data and Stories

  • Collect institution-level evidence, including:
    • Student debt levels and projected loan-limit shortfalls;
    • Enrollment and recruitment vulnerabilities;
    • Workforce placement and pipeline impacts.
  • Share this information with your congressional offices and, for ASPPH members, with ASPPH staff so we can amplify this data in national advocacy.
  • Use ASPPH’s prior public comment as a reference when the NPRM is published, and adapt our forthcoming updated materials to submit your own institutional comments.

Raising Visibility Through Communications

  • Use ASPPH’s op-ed template and other communications tools to publish stories about:
    • The importance of recognizing public health degrees as professional degrees;
    • Student, faculty, and community perspectives on the consequences of the proposed definition.
  • Share published pieces and powerful stories with ASPPH and via ASPPH’s public health story submission form so they can be amplified broadly.

Stay Engaged

We encourage you to use and share the “Public Health is a Professional Degree” graphic and the social media toolkit to help spread this important message.

ASPPH will continue to update this page as the rulemaking process advances, new tools are developed, and additional advocacy opportunities arise.

For questions or to share institutional data, stories, or published pieces related to this issue, please contact our Advocacy and Communications teams.