<P> United States Government - backed student loans were first offered in 1958 under the National Defense Education Act ( NDEA ) , and were only available to select categories of students , such as those studying toward engineering , science , or education degrees . The student loan program , along with other parts of the Act , which subsidized college professor training , was established in response to the Soviet Union 's launch of the Sputnik satellite , and a widespread perception that the United States was falling behind in science and technology , in the middle of the Cold War . Student loans were extended more broadly in the 1960s under the Higher Education Act of 1965 , with the goal of encouraging greater social mobility and equality of opportunity . </P>
<P> United States Government - backed student loans were first offered in 1958 under the National Defense Education Act ( NDEA ) , and were only available to select categories of students , such as those studying toward engineering , science , or education degrees . The student loan program , along with other parts of the Act , which subsidized college professor training , was established in response to the Soviet Union 's launch of the Sputnik satellite , and a widespread perception that the United States was falling behind in science and technology , in the middle of the Cold War . Student loans were extended more broadly in the 1960s under the Higher Education Act of 1965 , with the goal of encouraging greater social mobility and equality of opportunity . </P>
when did the federal student loan program start
when did the federal student loan program start
1960s
1960s