The Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Education announced in a press release in June of 2026 that if university statistics can’t show that graduates in specific majors earn more than the average person with only a high school diploma, students in those majors will no longer be eligible to apply for the Federal Direct Loan program.

The Student Tuition and Transparency System and Earnings Accountability rule will drastically change many students' lives, both educationally and financially can cause a significant employee decline in specific careers, leaving massive gaps in many businesses.

While they claim they are not targeting any major in particular, some departments and programs are more vulnerable to this new law, including arts and music, social work and counseling, religious studies and humanities, cosmetology and culinary arts, and even early childhood education. These majors statistically earn less every year than others, and some earn the same amount per year as someone with only a high school diploma. Those statistics seem to be enough for the ED not to allow those majors to get loans, as they don’t expect their graduates to make enough money to pay off their student loans.

Due to the three years of gathering data from graduates of these majors that must take place first, there will likely be no changes in the current eligibility requirements until at least 2028-2029. Existing loans in these programs will be unaffected, but any student enrolled in these programs after July 1, 2027, may be subject to the new eligibility requirements.

Students in low-income households will be the most affected, as, according to IHEP statistics, most students in these households cannot afford to go to undergraduate school without federal loans. According to CSUSB’s financial aid department, students can make up for the loss of federal student loans by applying for scholarships through CSUSB's scholarship website, private loans, and grants.