Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are often the cheapest borrowing option, followed by Direct Plus Loans and private graduate student loans

Graduate students pursuing degrees in nursing, architecture and some other fields will face lower caps on the amount they can borrow from the federal government after the Trump administration refuses to expand its list of 'professional degrees.

For parents borrowing federal Parent PLUS loans on behalf of their children to attend undergraduate college programs, new rules limit loan amounts to $20,000 a year with a $65,000 lifetime cap per dependent. Also, parents will not be able to consolidate Parent PLUS loans and pay them back as a percentage of their income.

Five nursing and physician associate associations said they are “profoundly dismayed” and “deeply concerned” by the Education Department’s ruling to cap student loans and classify nursing and PA degrees as graduate,

There's a strategy to getting the right student loans for graduate school. First, you'll want to tap federal student loans up to the yearly limit. Next you'll need to turn to private student loans to make up the difference.

The average cost of a two-year Master's degree is around $73,520, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, while a four-to-eight-year Ph.D. program could set you back close to $400,000 before grants and assistantships.