Like the characteristic polynomial, the minimal polynomial does not depend on the base field, in other words considering the matrix as one with coefficients in a larger field does not change the minimal polynomial. The reason is somewhat different from for the characteristic polynomial (where it is immediate from the definition of determinants), namely the fact that the minimal polynomial is determined by the relations of linear dependence between the powers of : extending the base field will not introduce any new such relations (nor of course will it remove existing ones).