Located in Groton, MA, the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, Gardening and Horticulture for Women opened in 1901 under the direction of Judith Eleanor Low. The first school of its kind for women, Lowthorpe incorporated in 1909 and changed its name to the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture in 1929. The School merged with Rhode Island School of Design in 1945, becoming a Department within the Division of Planning.

Lowthorpe offered summer programs with the Cambridge School of Domestic Architecture and Landscape Architecture, 1926-1927. Lowthorpe entered into a cooperative program with Simmons College, 1928-circa 1936, though the School did not grant degrees. A winter program was given at MIT during the 1930s.