Women with briefcases and books in their hands pass by and are in a hurry. The film accompanies young students into the auditorium, into the lab and in the evening back home to their husband and kid. What once was exceptional has become very common.

Shot mid-way through his Six Moral Tales, Éric Rohmer turns his camera towards academic life in this short documentary. Observing the record number of women enrolled in third-level education post-WW2, the little-seen A Modern Coed offers important historical context to Rohmer’s female characters.