Points of interest…
- RISE ends Grad PLUS loans for social work, capping borrowing at $100,000.
- Reported earnings test could deny loans if salaries trail high school pay.
- NASW and CSWE urge advocacy before any 2027 rule takes effect.
Clinical social work requires an MSW, supervised clinical hours, and state licensure before independent practice. The social work career path became more expensive on July 1, 2026, when the RISE rule removed Grad PLUS loans for new graduate and professional borrowers and capped aggregate federal graduate borrowing at $100,000.
A Sept. 29, 2026 theGrio report describes a still-unconfirmed proposal: an earnings test that could cut federal loans from programs whose graduates earn near the high school baseline for undergraduates or the bachelor's-degree baseline for graduate programs four years out, with social work named among fields hardest hit. Borrowers now weigh unsubsidized loans, HRSA grants, state repayment, and assistantships against a financing timeline that no longer matches the licensure timeline.
Enacted Rules Vs. The Reported 2026 Earnings Test: What We Actually Know
Social work borrowers are now managing two very different policy risks to MSW financial aid and scholarships: one enacted borrowing limit that is already active, and one reported earnings test that remains unconfirmed. The distinction matters because the enacted limits affect current borrowing, while the earnings test is not yet in force.
What is enacted
One set of changes is already in force. The May social work loan-access cuts and the July 1, 2026 RISE final rule reduced borrowing pathways for some new borrowers and ended new Grad PLUS lending for new graduate and professional borrowers. Treat those as current policy, not rumor.
What has only been reported
The contested part comes from a Los Angeles Times account, summarized by theGrio, of a separate accountability framework. As reported, the Department of Education would use IRS data to compare earnings four years after program completion with a baseline: working adults ages 25 to 34 with only a high school diploma for undergraduate programs, and bachelor's degree holders for graduate programs such as the MSW. That means the MSW benchmark is not the high school comparison, but the bachelor's-degree-holder comparison. Programs falling below the relevant baseline in two of three consecutive award years could lose future Direct Loan eligibility, with first consequences projected for the 2028-2029 award year. Social work, with its broad MSW career paths, was named among fields reported as hardest hit. No social work program has lost federal loan eligibility under this reported rule as of October 2026.
The Department's denial matters
The Department of Education called the Los Angeles Times report "fake news at its finest" and framed the issue as accountability for programs that "leave students worse off than if they never enrolled." The final status is disputed, so every claim about a social work loan ban should be read as reported, not confirmed. The May loan-access cuts are a separate, earlier action. Watch Federal Register notices and ED guidance for the controlling text.
How Much Can MSW Students Borrow in Federal Loans Now?
The Federal Register final RISE rule removes Grad PLUS for new borrowers starting July 1, 2026 and sets a $100,000 aggregate cap for graduate students and a $200,000 cap for listed professional fields. Social work is not on the professional list, so MSW students fall under the lower graduate cap. The operative professional aggregate is $200,000, not $150,000. The $257,500 lifetime ceiling includes undergraduate debt, while the program-level caps apply to previous graduate or professional borrowing.
| Borrower Type | Loan Type | Annual Limit | Aggregate Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New graduate borrowers (July 1, 2026 or later) | Direct Unsubsidized Loans only. Grad PLUS eliminated for new borrowers. | $20,500 | $100,000 | The $100,000 aggregate applies to new loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and includes previously borrowed Unsubsidized Loans for previous graduate programs. |
| New professional borrowers in listed fields (July 1, 2026 or later) | Direct Unsubsidized Loans only. Grad PLUS eliminated for new borrowers. | $50,000 | $200,000 | The $200,000 figure is reduced by amounts borrowed as a graduate student. Listed fields include pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology, and clinical psychology. |
| Social work and MSW students | Graduate-student federal loans. Grad PLUS eliminated for new borrowers. | $20,500 | $100,000 | Social work is excluded from the professional-degree list, so MSW students receive the graduate cap rather than the $200,000 professional cap. |
| All federal borrowers | Subsidized and unsubsidized loans received for undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate or professional study | N/A | $257,500 lifetime | This lifetime maximum counts all subsidized and unsubsidized loans, including undergraduate debt. |
| Programs temporarily eligible under court order | Direct Unsubsidized Loans with professional-degree designation temporarily restored | $50,000 annual | $200,000 aggregate | A federal court preliminarily stayed part of the professional-degree definition on June 24, 2026. ED June 29 guidance temporarily restored these limits for some programs, and designations may change as litigation proceeds. |
The new limits matter less for how much you can borrow than for how much you will have to fill another way.
The MSW Tuition Gap: Worked Examples by Program Type
Funding an MSW with social work student loans now requires comparing published tuition against the federal graduate loan cap, not just the sticker price. The examples below use tuition and fees only, not living expenses, and apply the current $20,500 annual graduate unsubsidized limit. For a two-year traditional program, that is $41,000 of federal borrowing before any restricted Grad PLUS eligibility. If Grad PLUS is unavailable for a program under the reported earnings rule, the tuition gap is the published total minus $41,000.
Assumptions Behind the Numbers
- Tuition and mandatory fees only; no housing, food, books, or loan fees.
- Two-year traditional programs assume two years of the $20,500 cap ($41,000).
- Advanced-standing one-year programs assume one year of the cap ($20,500).
- Figures are published totals or per-credit rates; some exclude fees or required credit counts.
Where the Gap Is Near Zero
A public in-state advanced-standing path like Cleveland State lists $19,677 total, which sits below the one-year $20,500 cap and leaves roughly no uncovered tuition on the loan side alone. Advanced standing MSW programs online can stay close to this if priced in the low $400s to low $600s per credit, such as Arkansas at $473.47 per credit.
Where the Gap Widens
A private traditional MSW like Simmons at $78,325 leaves about $37,325 uncovered after two years of the unsubsidized cap. A high-cost private program like Columbia's $126,388 traditional total leaves roughly $85,388 uncovered. Advanced-standing totals are lower but still can outpace a one-year cap: Pacific Lutheran's $31,896 leaves about $11,396, and Yeshiva's $50,760 leaves about $30,260 if completed within one year, or less if spread over two.
Part-Time and Online Caution
Across CSWE-accredited programs, published totals for MSW program cost and financial aid range from under $15,000 to over $60,000, with in-state public options often landing between $13,000 and $28,000 and online options between $20,000 and $70,000. The federal cap therefore does not eliminate the need for alternative funding in most private and many online programs. Liberty's part-time online rate is $665 per credit compared with $600 full time, so the total gap depends on credit load and duration.
The Earnings Test: Why Social Work Salaries Are Exposed
Would a social work program lose federal loan eligibility because its graduates earn less than bachelor's degree holders four years after leaving campus? That is the core question in the reported earnings test.
How the reported test works
The rule described by the Los Angeles Times would have the Department of Education use IRS data to compare a program's graduates' earnings four years after graduation with a baseline tied to recent high school graduates for undergraduate programs and bachelor's degree holders for graduate programs. If the college graduates fall below that baseline, the program could become ineligible for future federal loans. The Department has not published the exact baseline, and no verified list of which programs would fail has been released.
Why social work salaries sit in the crosshairs
Social work earnings do not ramp up cleanly by year four. Clinical social work practice usually requires an MSW, supervised clinical hours, and state licensure, so many graduates are still in pre-licensure or newly licensed roles at the four-year mark. Early jobs also concentrate in nonprofits, schools, and government agencies where starting pay is lower. BLS May 2025 figures put the median social worker wage at $61,780 overall, with medical social work careers such as healthcare social workers at $67,880, mental health and substance abuse social workers at $60,280, and child, family, and school social workers at $59,550.1 Entry-level MSW pay is commonly reported between $45,000 and $58,000.2 A 2024 workforce estimate places MSW-licensed workers at $67,980 and clinical-licensure-level social workers at $82,400.3 Government means are $57,080 for state and $68,500 for local workers.3 None of these figures is the rule's official threshold.
What remains unconfirmed
There is no current bachelor's-degree-holder median in the reviewed data, so the MSW comparison baseline is still unclear. For context, all workers had a median of $52,770 in 2025, and full-time year-round workers had a median of $66,620.4 The widely cited failure estimates are also unverified: about 3 percent of public and nonprofit programs, nearly one-third of for-profit programs, and about 5 percent of programs overall. That suggests nonprofit MSW programs may be less exposed than for-profit ones, but no social work program list has been confirmed.
Median Annual Wage for Social Workers Vs. High School Graduates
The proposed earnings test uses salary four years after graduation, a benchmark social work often misses early in licensure.
Which Social Work Degree Levels Face the Most Risk
BSW vs MSW is the cleanest contrast. A bachelor's in social work often leads to case management and support roles, while the MSW is the required credential for clinical licensure in most states. That licensure path is also why the MSW carries the most exposure.
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
BSW students borrow at undergraduate limits, which are lower. Many work before pursuing a graduate degree and are not yet relying on Grad PLUS funds. A BSW is less exposed to the graduate cap, though a reported program-level earnings test could still affect some bachelor's programs.
Master of Social Work (MSW)
The MSW is the highest-risk degree level. Students often need Grad PLUS loans to cover tuition beyond the unsubsidized graduate cap, and earnings typically rise only after supervised hours and state licensure. The reported earnings test would compare salaries four years after graduation to bachelor's degree holders, a period when many MSWs are still completing licensure. Social work's May loan-access cut already signaled this exposure, and the graduate cap does not carve out social work.
Advanced-Standing MSW
Advanced standing MSW students borrow less because the program is typically one year instead of two. That lower total debt reduces exposure to the cap, but they still face the same licensure-timing earnings test if it takes effect.
Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Doctor of Social Work programs are small and highly exposed to the graduate loan cap. Students often need Grad PLUS or private funding. Reported failure estimates show about 3 percent of bachelor's and advanced degree programs at public and nonprofit institutions could fail, compared with nearly one-third of for-profit programs. Those are program-wide estimates, not social-work-specific, so DSW borrowers should watch program-level data closely.
Related Articles
Funding an MSW Beyond Federal Loans: HRSA, State Repayment, Employers, and Assistantships
These programs are not guaranteed year to year, and eligibility details can change when Congress sets appropriations or states adjust rules. The table below lists options with the most recently available federal or state figures. Confirm current status with the administering agency before building a financing plan around any single source.
| Funding Source | Who Qualifies | Typical Award | Where to Apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| HRSA BHWET Program for Professionals social work training component | Accredited master's and doctoral social work programs developing interprofessional training for graduate students in behavioral health, trauma-informed care, and substance use disorder prevention and treatment | $600,000 | Grants.gov when funding is available |
| NHSC Loan Repayment Program | Licensed behavioral health providers working in a mental Health Professional Shortage Area; source does not identify every eligible social work license | Up to $75,000 | HRSA NHSC Loan Repayment Program application |
| NHSC State Loan Repayment Program | Full-time mental and behavioral health care providers at approved sites in a mental Health Professional Shortage Area; state programs determine detailed clinician eligibility | Up to $50,000 for two years of service | Through the applicable state or territorial program; consult the current Grants.gov notice and complete mandatory registrations |
| New York Licensed Social Worker Loan Forgiveness (LSWLF) Program | Licensed social workers who worked full-time, at least 35 hours per week, in a critical human-service area during the calendar year before applying | $6,500 per annual period of qualified service; maximum $26,000 or actual eligible student loan indebtedness, whichever is less | New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) LSWLF program page |
| Employer tuition assistance for MSW graduates in New York critical human service areas | MSW graduates working for qualified organizations, including organizations in critical human-service areas | Up to $26,000 | Not specified in available state guidance |
RAP, PSLF, and Private Loans: Comparing the Repayment Risks
A 2026 single-borrower Repayment Assistance Plan schedule starts at $10 a month for incomes up to $10,000, then adds 1 percentage point per $10,000 of income above that, topping out at 10% over $100,000.1 That income-driven structure matters more than the headline rate for many borrowers weighing the cost of an MSW degree.
How RAP and PSLF Fit Together
RAP payments can count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness if you work full time for a qualifying government or 501(c)(3) nonprofit employer and make 120 qualifying payments over roughly 10 years.2 For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, RAP is PSLF-qualifying.2 Earlier loans may have different rules, so verify your disbursement date. Your social worker title alone is not enough. Employer type, loan type, full-time status, and payment history all must qualify. For non-PSLF borrowers, RAP can lead to forgiveness after 30 years.4
A Repayment Example
Assume a single borrower owes $70,000 in federal graduate loans and earns a typical $60,000 social work salary. On a 10-year standard plan at 8.07%, principal and interest run about $850 a month. Under RAP's single-borrower schedule, payments would be lower, but the schedule is not a complete calculator; family size and income definition can change the result. Lower RAP payments still count toward PSLF when all other requirements are met.
Private Loans Carry Different Risks
Private graduate loans range roughly 1.94% to 17.99% in 2026, with the lowest advertised rates around 2% to 4% for top-credit borrowers.3 Most students need a cosigner, who becomes equally responsible for the debt. Private loans do not offer PSLF or income-driven plans like RAP, and forbearance, deferment, and discharge protections vary by lender. A variable private rate can move after closing, while federal graduate loan rates are fixed.
Takeaway: exhaust federal borrowing, Social Work Grants, assistantships, and employer aid first. If you still consider a private loan, run a debt-to-salary check before signing.
Funding an MSW is now a licensure-timeline decision, not just a tuition decision. What you can borrow matters less than the gap you must fill before supervised hours or licensure.
Contingency Planning Checklist for Current and Prospective Borrowers
Use this checklist before you enroll, switch programs, or take on additional federal loans.
- Confirm transition statusAsk your financial aid office whether you enrolled and borrowed before July 1, 2026, and how any transition protection applies to your current program.
- Run a debt-to-salary checkCompare projected total borrowing with expected pay before and after licensure, not just with long-term salary averages.
- Choose program format strategicallyPrefer advanced standing, in-state public programs, or part-time enrollment with employer tuition aid if federal loan limits become binding.
- Build a cosigner-free funding planBefore considering private loans, exhaust grants, scholarships, and federal options that do not require a cosigner.
- Apply early for grants and loan repaymentRequest HRSA behavioral health funds, state loan repayment, and assistantships as soon as applications open.
- Recheck rule updates before committingConfirm the latest federal loan eligibility guidance and program-level status before signing enrollment or loan documents.
How to Make Your Voice Heard Through NASW and CSWE
The most effective thing social work students and professionals can do right now is move from worry to organized advocacy. The window to influence any final earnings-test rule before its reported 2027 effective date is open, but only if people use it.
Start with the formal federal channel: search Regulations.gov for the Department of Education's proposed rule and file a public comment. Then use the NASW advocacy action alerts and your state chapter's calls, both of which package social work advocacy skills for you. CSWE policy resources also track the rulemaking and offer template letters for social work policy advocacy. Most important, call or email your members of Congress and say you are a social work student or practitioner in their district.
Keep the message specific. NASW CEO Anthony Estreet put it plainly when he told theGrio that social work requires a graduate degree, supervised hours, and state licensure, and making that education harder to afford leaves real people without care during an opioid and mental health crisis. Use that frame.
A simple personal comment template: I am enrolled in [your MSW program]. I expect to borrow [amount] to finish. I intend to serve [population or setting: community mental health, child welfare, veterans, rural clinics]. Cutting federal loan access for social work programs would [delay my licensure, force me to leave the field, reduce services in my community].
