The 39th ACM Symposium on Parallelism in Algorithms and Architectures (SPAA ’27) will be held in Atlanta, GA, USA, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, in the week of June 5-11, 2027. The conference will be co-located with other ACM events at the Federated Computing Research Conference (FCRC).
Submissions are invited across all areas of parallel and distributed computing. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: algorithms, data structures, computational models, complexity theory, architectures, performance engineering, languages, runtime systems, compilers, programming systems, and networking systems, as well as quantum parallelism and parallel computing in modern application domains such as machine learning. Papers that are purely theoretical, purely experimental, or that combine theory and practice are welcome.
Important Dates
All deadlines are at 11:59 p.m. AoE.
Cycle 1:
Abstract registration: Sep 18 (Friday)
Full paper submission: Sep 25 (Friday)
Rebuttal period: Nov 16 – 18 (Monday – Wednesday)
Author notification: Dec 5 (Saturday)
Cycle 2:
Abstract registration: Jan 22 (Friday)
Full paper submission: Jan 29 (Friday)
Rebuttal period: Mar 22 – 24 (Monday – Wednesday)
Author notification: Apr 10 (Saturday)
For both cycles:
Camera-Ready Deadline: TBD
Topics of Interest
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Parallel and distributed algorithms
- Parallel, concurrent, and distributed data structures
- Parallel complexity theory
- Scheduling algorithms for parallel machines
- Computational models for parallel and distributed computing
- Interplay between algorithmic parallelism, programming, and architecture
- Parallel programming languages
- Parallel programming frameworks and domain-specific languages
- System software for parallel and concurrent programming, including (but not limited to) runtime systems, compilers, and tools
- Parallel and distributed architectures
- Supercomputer architecture and high-performance computing
- Instruction-level parallelism and VLSI
- Parallelism in emerging hardware platforms, including AI accelerators, processing-in-memory, and quantum computing
- Energy-efficient (“green”) computing and power-aware architectures
- Transactional memory: hardware and software
- Management and processing of massive data sets
- Memory or I/O-efficient algorithms
- Parallelism in machine learning
- Routing and information dissemination
- Peer-to-peer systems
- Mobile, ad hoc, and sensor networks
Submission Overview
Papers must be submitted via HotCRP via two submission sites for Cycle 1 and Cycle 2.
Submissions may be either regular papers or brief announcements. Titles of brief announcements should begin with “Brief Announcement:”. Submissions not accepted as regular papers will automatically be considered for brief announcements, unless the title is explicitly suffixed with “(full paper only).”
Submissions must be PDFs in single-spaced, double-column format on 8.5×11-inch paper, with at least a 9-pt font, reasonable margins/spacing, and page numbers. The PDFs should be readable when printed in black and white. Submissions must use the final ACM “sigconf” format: https://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template.
To facilitate unbiased expert reviewing, SPAA 2027 may use the Toronto Paper Matching System (TPMS) for reviewer assignment, which means TPMS may be given access to the submissions.
Regular Papers:
A regular paper must present original, unpublished work not under concurrent submission. It may not exceed ten (10) single-spaced, double-column pages (excluding the bibliography). All details supporting the main claims should appear within those ten pages or in clearly marked supplementary material, though reviewers are not obligated to read the supplementary material.
Brief Announcements:
Examples of brief announcements include work in progress, tool/library announcements, challenge problems to the community, corrections to prior results, and smaller results of independent interest. They may not exceed three (3) single-spaced, double-column pages excluding the bibliography. SPAA proceedings publication of a Brief Announcement does not preclude longer conference submissions.
Theory vs. Experiments:
To assist with reviewer assignment, please select one of the following categories for your paper at submission:
- Theory (primarily theoretical contributions)
- Experiments (primarily experimental contributions)
- Theory and Experiments (a mix of both)
Double-Blind Policy
SPAA 2026 will use a lightweight double-blind review process. Submissions must omit author names, affiliations, and contact information; self-citations should be written in the third person; and supplementary material must be anonymized. Authors may still disseminate their work as usual (e.g., on arXiv or through talks), and reviewers will be asked not to actively seek author identities by any means.
Reviewing Process
Each submission that is not desk-rejected will receive at least three reviews. At the discretion of the PC chairs, additional reviews may be procured. After the reviews are submitted and prior to the PC discussion, authors will have the opportunity to submit a rebuttal response to address reviewer concerns, clarify misunderstandings, and correct factual inaccuracies.
Following the PC discussions, authors will receive one of the following decisions: Accept, Reject, Resubmission (for Cycle 1), or Revision (for Cycle 2). Submissions rejected in Cycle 1 cannot be resubmitted to Cycle 2, with the exception of those that received a “Resubmission” decision. Resubmitted papers in Cycle 2 will be treated as new submissions and reviewed on their technical merits. Submissions to Cycle 2 may also receive a “Revision” decision, which initiates a shepherding process. This decision is typically applied to papers whose core merits and contributions are fully acknowledged, but still contain minor or presentation-related issues that must be addressed. In such cases, a designated PC member will serve as a shepherd, guiding the authors through the revision process. These papers are conditionally accepted and are expected to be formally accepted, provided that all listed revision requirements are satisfactorily met.
Conflict of Interest Policy
To ensure a fair review process, all authors must disclose any conflicts of interest to PC members at submission. A conflict of interest includes:
- Academic advisor/advisee (no time limit)
- Postdoctoral mentor/mentee (3-year limit)
- Collaborators within the past 3 years (e.g., joint paper, project, or funding)
- Same institutional affiliation within the past 3 years
- Family member or close friend
- Anyone involved in an alleged harassment incident (even if not formally reported)
- Anyone whose relationship with an author could reasonably impair objective judgment
The program chair may request a ToC advocate to confidentially verify a claimed conflict. Falsely declared conflicts (i.e., those not covered by the above) risk rejection without review. Authors who believe they have a valid conflict not listed above, or are unsure, should contact the program chair.
Official Publication Date
The official publication date for SPAA papers is the date the proceedings appear in the ACM Digital Library, which may be up to two weeks before the conference. If they appear after the conference, the official publication date is the first day of the conference. This date governs the deadline for any related patent filings.
ACM Publications Policies
By submitting your article to an ACM publication, you acknowledge that you and your co-authors are subject to ACM Publications Policies (https://www.acm.org/publications/policies). Any alleged violation of these policies will be investigated by ACM and may result in full retraction of the paper and other penalties.
All authors of accepted papers must have ORCID iDs to complete the publishing process; see https://authors.acm.org/author-resources/orcid-faqs. ORCID iDs are now required for all ACM journals and conference proceedings (even though the FAQ does not yet explicitly mention conference publications).
ACM’s New Open Access Publishing Model for 2027 Conferences
All ACM publications, including those from ACM-sponsored conferences, are 100% Open Access. Authors have two primary options for publishing Open Access articles with ACM: the ACM Open institutional model or by paying Article Processing Charges (APCs). With ~3,000 institutions already part of ACM Open, the majority of ACM-sponsored conference papers will not require APCs from authors or conferences (currently, around 76%).
Authors from institutions not participating in ACM Open will need to pay an APC to publish their papers, unless they qualify for a financial or discretionary waiver. To find out whether an APC applies to your article, please consult the list of participating institutions in ACM Open and review the APC Waivers and Discounts Policy. Please keep in mind that waivers are rare and are granted based on specific criteria set by ACM.
To support authors and institutions as they continue to adapt to ACM’s Open Access publishing model, the ACM Council has approved subsidized APC rates for calendar year 2027, allowing more time for institutions to join ACM Open. The subsidy will offer $500 APC for ACM/SIG members or $750 for non-members. This represents a 29% discount off current APC list pricing, funded directly by ACM. Authors are encouraged to help advocate for their institutions to join ACM Open during this transition period. This temporary subsidized pricing will apply to all conferences scheduled for 2027.
Additional Notes
If you have any questions about the above policies, please contact the PC chairs Yan Gu and Yihan Sun by email (ygu/yihans AT cs DOT ucr DOT edu) and prefix the email subject with “[SPAA 27]”.