A Scottish university has launched a free online course about the battle for the White House.

The University of Edinburgh's three-week course, The Making of the US President: A Short History of Five Elections, aims to give students a fresh insight into this year's battle for the White House by examining landmark past presidential campaigns.

The free course, which begins on October 24, combines video lectures, online debates and short quizzes and will run for the length of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Read more: Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? British-based voters 'to play decisive role'

Students will also be able to access a live election night webcast, featuring expert analysis from Edinburgh academics, at the university's student union on November 8.

Professor Robert Mason, from the School of History, Classics & Archaeology, who is overseeing the course, said: "The contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton has become one of the most fascinating struggles in US political history.

"By taking this free course, learners will discover the historical background to the 2016 contest, examining other key moments and figures from the past, including Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald Reagan."

Read more: Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? British-based voters 'to play decisive role'

The course is one of 35 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) currently on offer at the University. More than two million people have signed up for Edinburgh’s MOOCs since its launch four years ago.

The University is also offering its first online MOOCs on the edX platform, which was founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2012.

New Edinburgh courses on edX include Statistics: Unlocking the World of Data and Economic Democracy: The Cooperative Alternative. The new courses follow the success of Edinburgh’s first edX course Introduction to Marketing.

Read more: Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? British-based voters 'to play decisive role'

Melissa Highton, Assistant Principal for Online Learning at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Online learning is an increasingly important method of teaching, opening up high-quality education opportunities to people around the world. MOOCs form a key part of that approach, enabling anyone to sign up for free and benefit from Edinburgh's expertise."