The Fine Arts 2D department houses the concentrations of Painting and Printmaking. Both programs support a broad range of ideas and techniques emphasizing personal expression and a passion to create with liquid color and form. The department provides disciplined study of the traditions of two-dimensional media as well as exploration of mixed media, environmental, and conceptual art forms.

In both the Painting and Printmaking concentrations, faculty mentor students, meeting with them individually, encouraging them to develop their own unique sense of direction and aesthetic values. But community is important too - small groups of students work in adjacent studio areas, sharing ideas and resources. In both Painting and Printmaking, discipline is key; students devote nine hours per week to class time and an additional six to twelve hours per week to work in their studios.

Faculty member Peter Wayne Lewis comments that "students need to be in an arena where they can transform their ideas into images and forms and start the process toward the ability to be self-reliant, self-critical, and self-directed."

Few art colleges in the country can offer studio space to all its students. The Fine Arts 2D department at MassArt has over 50,000 square feet of studio space to accommodate its undergraduate and graduate students. MassArt is unusual in offering studio space to undergraduates. Juniors and Seniors have their own individual studio space for the year; sophomores share studio space. The studios are open seven days per week. During critical periods in the semester, students have 24-hour access to studios.