A Leadership Brainery research tool
The new federal loan caps, program by program.
Since July 1, 2026, affected new borrowers have been capped at $20,500/year for Master’s and Doctoral programs and $50,000/year for professional programs. Compare earlier borrowing with today’s caps by field, school, and state.
Scope of the data
13,594 graduate programs · 1,539 U.S. institutions · 177 fields of study.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) 2025 report, covering academic years 2020–2023, the same federal dataset analyzed by The New York Times. Compiled for Brainery.
Comparison basis: These average borrowing figures cover academic years 2020–2023, before the July 1, 2026 caps took effect. “Above the cap” compares earlier borrowing with today’s limit; it does not describe borrowing under the current rules.
Note: With pending litigation, some programs currently classified as Master’s or Doctoral may be reclassified as Professional, which would change how they are grouped here and the accuracy of this tool.
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