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Protect the Future for ND Students: Keep Naturopathic Medicine Defined as a Professional Degree
The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with a proposed rule that seeks to narrow the definition of "professional degree." The draft restrictive definition only includes 11 professions, and excludes the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree, along with all of nursing, PAs, PTs, LAcs, and many others.
This move stems from an effort to rein in student loan debt and tuition costs as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However if this rule is finalized, the ND degree would be reclassified as a "graduate degree," and naturopathic medical students would only be eligible for $20,500/year or $100,000/lifetime in federal loans - or less than half the amount of loans as conventional medical students.
This change would place an impossible burden on aspiring Naturopathic Doctors, forcing many to rely on higher-interest private loans or abandon their education, which will result in fewer NDs available to serve patients.
It is critical to note that the Department of Education first classified the Naturopathic Doctor degree as a first professional degree in 2003, recognizing the rigorous, necessary training it provides to prepare students to be primary care providers. This proposed rule reverses over two decades of federal recognition, and actively undermines our healthcare workforce pipeline.
The Ask: Full Inclusion of Naturopathic Doctors
We urge Congress and the Department of Education to revise the proposed definition of "professional degrees" to explicitly include the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree, in keeping with two decades of established classification, and the parameters they set forth for professions; naturopathic medicine meets them all.
The Action: Contact Your Congressman TODAY
Your voice is the most powerful tool we have. We need to flood Congress with letters emphasizing the crucial role of NDs in the primary care landscape and the devastating impact this reclassification would have on patient access, especially at a time when the nation is just beginning to prioritize the kind of preventive and whole-person health that is the core of naturopathic practice.
Take a minute to send an email sharing your story to your specific Representative and Senators.