The Filomen M. D’Agostino Scholarships in Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and Criminal Justice pays full tuition each year for three students of outstanding academic merit and leadership potential who demonstrate a strong commitment to work in an organization in the U.S. or abroad on civil rights, civil liberties or criminal justice issues for at least three years. This obligation begins upon graduation from the Law School or, if the scholar is hired as a judicial clerk, upon completion of his or her clerkship(s). If a scholar fails to live up to this commitment, the scholar has a moral obligation to repay the scholarship.
The scholarships are named after Filomen D'Agostino ('20), a trailblazer in the legal profession, and a rare woman lawyer in that time. Her generosity helped transform NYU School of Law. She and her husband, Max E. Greenberg, donated D'Agostino Hall, one of the most important buildings on the NYU Law campus, as well as the beautiful Greenberg Lounge in Vanderbilt Hall, and also endowed The Max E. Greenberg Professorship in Contract Law and the D'Agostino-Greenberg Faculty Research Fund.
This scholarship is administered as part of the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program; D'Agostino Scholars are selected as part of the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship selection process and participate in all program activities including the first-year orientation and monthly dinners. For more information please review the Root-Tilden-Kern program description and see how to apply.
Since the program’s inception, D'Agostino Scholars have distinguished themselves as public service leaders during law school and in their careers. Alumni of the scholarship work in such varied organizations as the ACLU, Advocates for Children, Immigrant Children Advocacy Project of Catholic Charities, Brooklyn Defender Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the International Criminal Court, and the United Nations. To see the list of the current scholars, please see the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars bios.