Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduces significant changes to the federal Title IV student aid programs. Some of these changes impact Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans. These updates will take effect on July 1, 2026.
Notice of Regulatory Implementation: The Office of Student Financial Aid Services is actively monitoring the legislation and its implementation details. This page will be updated regularly as additional guidance becomes available from the U.S. Department of Education.
- Annual Limit: Determined by the formula of "Cost of Attendance - Other Aid (i.e. grants, scholarships, other loans)"
- Aggregate Limit: No limit
- Eligibility: Based on enrollment and credit check of the student
- Loan Reduction: Loans are not reduced based on enrollment. The minimum enrollment requirement is half-time
This program is eliminated for new borrowers.
- Legacy Provision: NJIT students who borrowed a Federal Direct Graduate Unsubsidized or a Graduate PLUS loan in the 2025-2026 academic year before July 1, 2026, may continue borrowing for up to 3 years or for the remainder of their expected time to complete the program, within the published length of time to do so, whichever is less.
- Loan Reduction: Loans must be reduced when students are not enrolled full-time. The reduction is based on the enrollment status and Cost of Attendance. Full time enrollment for graduate students is 9 credits/term
Students requiring additional financing options should review the following supplemental funding options:
- Private Education Loans
Apply for a private loan - Payment Plans
Sign up for a payment plan
The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan program has been eliminated for new borrowers, effective July 1, 2026. Graduate students will now be limited primarily to Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, with an annual cap of $20,500 and lifetime loan limits of $100,000 (not including undergraduate loans). New borrowers are defined as anyone who has not received a federal student loan disbursed before July 1, 2026.
Under certain rules, the law allows current borrowers to continue borrowing from the program for 3 years or until they complete their program, whichever is shorter. If you meet the criteria to be considered a legacy borrower, then you can continue using the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan Program.
A legacy borrower is a current NJIT student who has borrowed any Federal Direct Loan (i.e. Direct Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS) before July 1, 2026 for the 2025-2026 academic year at NJIT. Borrowing a loan before July 1, 2026, means the loan was disbursed before that date.
Graduate students may qualify for “legacy” status if:
- They borrowed Federal Direct Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS for 2025- 2026 under their current program of study, and they had the loan disbursed prior to July 1, 2026, and
- They remain enrolled in the same eligible program, and
- They remain continuously enrolled (you are still considered continuously enrolled even if you don’t take summer classes).
Legacy eligibility is available for up to three years or for the remainder of their expected time to complete the program, within the published length of time to do so, whichever is less. General loan eligibility and credit approval requirements still apply.
A borrower can lose “legacy” status for a few reasons:
Continuous Enrollment Requirement
Legacy borrowers must be continuously enrolled. For example, legacy borrowers will lose eligibility to continue using the Graduate PLUS Loan if they:
- Take a fall or spring semester off
- Begin enrollment in a fall or spring semester and withdraw partially through it
If attendance in the summer term is not required as part of a student’s academic degree requirements, then summer is excluded from the continuous enrollment requirement, so a borrower will not lose eligibility for not taking classes in the summer.
Three Years of Eligibility
Legacy borrowers can retain eligibility for the Graduate PLUS Loan for only 3 academic years after July 1, 2026, or for the remainder of their program of study, whichever is shorter.
Changing Programs
Legacy borrowers will lose eligibility if they change to a different graduate or professional program after July 1, 2026.
No, you cannot be considered a legacy borrower because you are starting a new program after July 1, 2026.
A “year” for legacy purposes is an academic year (not a calendar year).
The Federal Direct Graduate Unsubsidized Loan remains available for all graduate students. You can learn more about the loan here.
Other options may be available through private lenders.
Notice of Regulatory Implementation: The Office of Student Financial Aid Services is awaiting guidance on legacy status. This page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available from the U.S. Department of Education.
Graduate degree programs generally have a 2-year (30 credits) published program length. We will use this maximum time as the time allowed to complete the degree.
Expected Time to Credential
Under 34 CFR 685.102(b), the expected time to credential (ETTC) is defined as: "From July 1, 2026, the expected time for a student to complete a program that is equal to or the lesser of—
- Three academic years, as defined in 34 CFR 668.3; or
- The period determined by calculating the difference between—
- The program length for the program of study in which the individual is enrolled; and
- The period of such program of study that such individual has completed as of the date of the determination under paragraph (ii) of this definition."
How is Expected Time to Credential calculated?
Based on current guidance (August 12, 2026) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), we calculate expected time to credential (ETTC) based upon:
- The number of credits required to complete your current program of study
- The number of credits you completed for your program as of June 30, 2026, and
- NJIT's definition of full-time enrollment for an academic year
Results are rounded up to the next 0.5 year. Please see an example below:
Example:Two-Year Master's Program Requiring 30 Credits
Student completed 12 credits in 2025-2026. The student must earn an additional 18 credits to complete the program. The ETTC is 18 divided by 18 (the number of credits a full-time graduate student is expected to complete over the fall/spring academic year) or 1 year or maximum 2 semesters.
Example 1
Published Program Length: 2 years
The student completes their first year at the end of 2025-26 and is scheduled to return for their second year in 2026-27. The student borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan in 2025-2026.
| Academic Year | Period Enrolled | Legacy Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-2026 | Year 1 | N/A |
| 2026-2027 | Year 2 | Legacy eligible |
| 2027-2028 | Year 3 | Not eligible for legacy |
Example 2
Published Program Length: 2 years
The student completes their second year at the end of 2025-26 and is scheduled to return for a third year in 2026-27. The student borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan in 2025-2026.
| Academic Year | Period Enrolled | Legacy Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | Year 1 | N/A |
| 2025-2026 | Year 2 | N/A |
| 2026-2027 | Year 3 | Not eligible for legacy |
Example 3
Published Program Length: 3 years
The student completes their first year at the end of 2025-26 and is scheduled to return for a second year in 2026-27. The student did not borrow a Federal Direct Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS loan in 2025-2026.
| Academic Year | Period Enrolled | Legacy Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-2026 | Year 1 | N/A |
| 2026-2027 | Year 2 | Not eligible for Grad PLUS |
No. The Financial Aid Office cannot override the legacy status or eligibility requirements.
Beginning July 1, 2026, Federal Direct Loan amounts will be reduced for students enrolled less than full-time. Fulltime enrollment is generally defined as 9 credits/semester for graduate students. If you take fewer than 18 credits for the academic year, your Federal Direct Loan amounts will be reduced proportionally to the actual credit load.