The International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA) is the premier forum for new ideas and experimental results in computer architecture. The conference specifically seeks particularly forward-looking and novel submissions. The 53rd edition of ISCA will be held in Raleigh, NC, between June 27 and July 1, 2026.
As with prior ISCAs, there will be a main track and an industry track. For both tracks, the dates, topics, and some review policies are presented here. For additional information on the industry track, please see the industry track call for papers.
All deadlines occur on the given date(s) at 11:59 PM AoE.
| Main Track | Industry Track | |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract Deadline | November 10, 2025 | December 5, 2025 |
| Full Paper Deadline | November 17, 2025 | December 12, 2025 |
| Round 1 Reviews Due | December 19, 2025 | February 6, 2026 |
| Round 2 Reviews Due | February 13, 2026 | n/a |
| Rebuttal/Revision Period | February 16 – March 6, 2026 | February 16 – 27, 2026 (no revisions)
|
| Decisions Released | March 27, 2026 | March 27, 2026 |
ISCA-53 will be conducting Artifact Evaluation. Authors of accepted papers are encouraged to submit their artifacts for evaluation.
To keep high review quality and ensure a productive and pleasant reviewer experience in anticipation of increasing paper submissions, for ISCA-53, we are initiating two new expectations for authors.
Any senior author (i.e., holding a PhD or having equivalent level of seniority) registering more than 6 abstracts (regardless of whether any of those abstracts are later withdrawn) may be called upon to serve on the PC and cannot decline. Another other senior author may be nominated in place. Final decisions on this matter will be at the discretion of the PC chairs.
To prepare for the possibility of a higher volume of submissions, we expect at least one senior author (as defined above) per paper must register as a reserve reviewer (unless exempt under the criteria below). [We thank the OOPSLA program chairs for piloting this practice!]
The goal of this policy is to uphold the high standard of reviews within the TCCA/SIGARCH/SIGMICRO/TCMM community. To achieve this, we must ensure manageable review loads, prevent burnout, and encourage reviewers to stay engaged for future rounds. High-quality reviews are one of the community’s greatest assets, playing a crucial role in elevating the quality of research for everyone.
Our hope is that these reserve reviewers won’t be needed at all! They will only be called upon as ad hoc reviewers if our projections fall significantly short. Even in that case, their review load will be far lighter than that of LPC members, and we will do our best to assign papers that closely match expertise. Those selected to serve as a reviewer will be acknowledged in the proceedings.
When registering a paper in HotCRP, the form will include a field for the designated reserve reviewer. After the final paper submission, we will notify reserve reviewers if their reviewing services will be needed, and they will be expected to enter their areas of expertise in HotCRP in a timely fashion and update their COIs.
We define “senior” authors as those who completed their PhD, or equivalent industry experience. A paper is exempt from the reserve reviewer policy if:
It is okay for the same person to serve as the reserve reviewer for more than one paper. Please enter their information for each such paper (preferably identically). For cases in which a paper is exempt according to the above criteria, please enter “exempt” in the reserve reviewer field.
Note that these policies mean that authorship cannot be changed after abstract registration and we require paper titles to be finalized at the paper registration time. We hope this will reduce abuse of the abstract registration process to register ghost/placeholder papers.
Papers are solicited on a broad range of topics, including (but not limited to):