ASPPH and Partners Continue to Advocate for Recognition of Health Professions as Professional Degrees

ASPPH recently co-led a coalition letter to the US Department of Education (ED)'s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee ahead of this week's second session of negotiated rulemaking on the definition of "professional degrees." The coalition letter was developed in partnership with a broad coalition of health professions, education programs, and professional associations and builds on ASPPH's continued leadership through prior coalition and public comment letters.

The latest letter outlines four key recommendations for ED, including classifying all programs under Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code 51, Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, as "professional degrees."

It also urges defining a "professional degree" as one that leads to a credential required for entry into practice and aligning definitions with accreditation standards, rather than focusing on credit hours or program length. The coalition letter emphasized that misclassifying health professions degrees could harm access to federal financial aid and exacerbate workforce shortages in rural and underserved communities. ASPPH continues to advocate for fair recognition of MPH, DrPH, and related degrees as professional programs. Learn more about ASPPH's policy and advocacy efforts.